When it comes to Ben Affleck’s future with DC, we’re currently getting some mixed signals, but should the actor not be returning for the title role of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, it’s clear who Kevin Smith would want in his place.
While attending the New York Comic Con, the writer, director, and podcaster managed to get a couple of photos with his first choice to play the Caped Crusader, Jon Hamm. The Mad Men star has earned the go-ahead of many a DC fan to try his hand at playing Bruce Wayne, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger cheerleader than Smith, whose Instagram upload came with the following endorsement:
“Bat-Hamm! It’s hard to look good standing beside the best looking man in the world, but it’s worth it because I’m a huge Hamm fan (which sounds more erotically charged than I meant it)! The guy’s crazy talented, funny as fuck and smart as Hell. But just look at him in his suit and tell me that’s not Bruce Wayne! Give Draper the cape and light up the Bat Signal!”
While Hamm is currently a prominent name in the public discourse around who the next Batman should be, this is hardly a new stance for Smith, who mentioned on his podcast a couple of weeks ago that he’s been championing the Don Draper actor for years.
“I roll deep on Jon Hamm as Batman. I think that’s a brilliant idea, I’ve been saying it for fucking years, I’ve been saying it even when they cast Ben I was like ‘look, he’s great and yeah, he’ll do a great job’ but fuck Jon Hamm was right there and stuff.”
Despite all this fan fantasizing, we’re still awaiting official confirmation on whether Affleck actually will be dropping out of the franchise before The Batman. While a report from last month seemed to suggest as such, an inside source has since said that Affleck is now in the mood to put on the cape one more time, feeling that he could still take the character in an exciting new direction. In particular, Joaquin Phoenix’s work in Joker was highlighted as a source of inspiration that made Affleck want to stay the course all the more.
Regardless of whether it’s Batfleck, Bat-Hamm, or someone else who’ll be wearing the mask next, Matt Reeves’ The Batman is scheduled to begin filming in summer 2019, so here’s hoping Warner gets this uncertainty resolved sooner rather than later.