Ben Barnes plays crazed villain Billy Russo AKA Jigsaw on Marvel’s The Punisher, but he’s also got his eye on not only switching to the side of the heroes but also swapping the House of Ideas for DC. The British star, also known for Westworld, has revealed that he’d love to play Batman some day and approach the iconic character in a whole new way.
Heroic Hollywood spoke to Barnes to promote The Punisher season 2 and asked what role he’d like to play outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This led Barnes to recall his own makeshift childhood cosplay as the Dark Knight and his adult desire to follow in the footsteps of fellow Brit Christian Bale and offer his own spin on the Bat, something he also aimed to do as Jigsaw.
I was just saying earlier to one of the journalists. I came across recently this picture of me when and I’m about 4 years old. And I have a little bit of string around my neck with a yellow piece of paper and a black bat drawn on the bit of paper. It is the saddest little Batman costume you’ve ever seen. I think that would be up there for me in something to try and find a new way to do. I think the way Christian Bale did it where he completely reinvented it which is a little bit what I was trying to do with Jigsaw in season 2. We never refer to him as Jigsaw necessarily so it didn’t feel quite honest to do exactly what they did in the Warzone comics and stuff but to find a new way around things is an interesting thing. With TV and movies these days you have find a way to make it new, fresh and interesting. So, yeah that would be pretty cool thought.”
Luckily for Barnes, he might have an opportunity to try out for the role of a lifetime right about now. All signs are pointing to Ben Affleck having hung up his cowl for good, leaving director Matt Reeves free to look around for a new lead for The Batman, which he’s taking his sweet time developing. As of this month, though, Jack O’Connell – another Brit – sits as the favorite to take on the job. There’s a while until this is made official, however, as word has it that Warner Bros. won’t unveil their new Batman until May or June.
Either way, Barnes is probably done playing Jigsaw. The Punisher season 2 has been received relatively warmly by critics so far, but it’s surely only a matter of time before the show, starring Jon Bernthal as gun-toting vigilante Frank Castle, joins Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil on the Netflix scrapheap – with Jessica Jones soon to follow.
