Steven S. DeKnight. You may know the name, as he’s certainly had a fair bit of experience in the superhero genre. Most notably, he was showrunner on Daredevil for a while (and even directed an episode, too) and also had a producing role on Smallville, among other projects. Not to mention should his upcoming blockbuster Pacific Rim: Uprising prove to be a hit, you can bet that he’ll find himself as a hot commodity in Hollywood.
Could he eventually wind up with his hands on a DC property, though? It’s certainly possible with the way his career is going, and if he were to be put in charge of Batman, he has the perfect actor in mind to play the part: Jon Hamm. That’s right, when asked on Twitter by a fan who he’d cast as the Dark Knight, he named the former Mad Men star, while also noting that he thinks Walton Goggins (who’ll be seen next in Tomb Raider) would make a great Joker.
And though DeKnight obviously won’t have a say in the casting of the next Caped Crusader, he might find himself pretty pleased in the near future, as there’ve been rumors that Hamm has been quietly campaigning for the title role in Matt Reeves’ Batman movie. Though Ben Affleck has been donning the cape and cowl since 2016, it’s looking increasingly likely that Justice League will be remembered as Batfleck’s last hurrah.
Reeves allegedly doesn’t want him, and Affleck has been casting doubt on his future in the DC Extended Universe – or lack thereof – for what feels like far too long. All of this uncertainty led to Jake Gyllenhaal being tipped for The Batman, though Warner Bros. apparently isn’t all that keen on the actor, who silenced the naysayers with his tour-de-force performance in Stronger.
Perhaps that’ll open up an avenue for Jon Hamm to, ahem, swoop in and steal the prize, then? Time will tell, but DeKnight is far from the only one who wants to see him in the role and with any luck, the studio will put an end to all this soon and give us a definite answer as to who’ll be suiting up as Batman the next time the character’s seen in theaters.
