Holy status report, Batman!
After months of radio silence, Warner Bros. and Matt Reeves finally brought us a substantial update on The Batman – even if that’s merely the placeholder title for Bruce Wayne’s next big-screen outing – last week. First came the long overdue confirmation that Ben Affleck, star of Batman V Superman and the misguided Justice League movie, will indeed be stepping down as Gotham’s Dark Knight, which leaves the door open for a younger actor to take up the role.
Of course, that naturally sent the Internet into a tailspin, with tons of names beginning to pop up as everyone puts forth their own personal pick for the successor to Batfleck. Armie Hammer and The Punisher‘s Ben Barnes have been name-dropped as likely candidates, while even folks like Robert Pattinson and Nick Jonas have come up in conversation. But now, a former MCU actor wants to let everyone know that he’d be down to be our next Caped Crusader.
Scott Adkins, perhaps best known for his action movies (The Expendables 2, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Ip Man 4, etc.), isn’t exactly a household name, but you’re likely familiar with his face. MCU fans may also know him from Doctor Strange, where he played Lucian Aster, “a sorcerer and a former member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts who joined the Zealots with the intention of defeating the Ancient One.” It seems that he’d be up for switching sides, though, as he’s now released an audition video showing us his take on Batman.
Clearly, he’s in perfect shape to play the iconic DC hero and could also bring a sense of physicality to the role, but at the age of 42, he might be too old since Warner Bros. apparently wants someone in their late 20s/early 30s. Then again, it’d be a lot easier to keep a lower profile actor in contract rather than someone who’s already on Hollywood’s A-List, so maybe Adkins has a chance after all?
Honestly, who knows, but now that The Batman is finally beginning to take flight, expect an announcement on who’ll be stepping into the role fairly soon. Rumors point to May or June, but either way, we imagine we’ll know by the summer who our next Dark Knight will be.
