Jake Gyllenhaal, the Next Batman?
Though he was once turned down to play Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, the actor speaks candidly about playing the superhero in James Gunn's upcoming DC adaptation.
If you didn't know the story, Jake Gyllenhaal was one of the actors considered for the role of Batman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, which ultimately went to Christian Bale.
During a recent interview, Gyllenhaal, however, mentioned the possibility of taking up the Batman torch during James Gunn's DC reboot. "It's a classic. It would be an honor," the Nightcrawler star told Screen Rant. "It would always be an honor. These kinds of things and roles are classics."
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is undergoing a significant overhaul, marked by a fresh timeline and narrative direction spearheaded by the newly appointed heads of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran. This reboot entails recasting various iconic heroes and villains like Batman, alongside the introduction of original storylines. The inaugural installment of this revamped universe, titled "Superman: Legacy," is slated for release in 2025.
Gyllenhaal, however, is enjoying his time prepping for a change of pace, as he is slated to make return to Broadway in 2025 with Denzel Washington, starring as Lago in an upcoming production of Othello.
While we have more recently been able to see Ben Affleck reprise the role of Bruce Wayne in the DC Extended Universe, then Robert Pattinson with Matt Reeves' The Batman, rumors around Jake Gyllenhaal for the next adaptation are intensifying. While the latter didn't give a definitive answer, he certainly left the door open to the idea of one day donning the iconic Batman costume.
