Alan Ritchson responded to the rumours about him playing Batman in future James Gunn's DCU films.
Ritchson, who has previously starred in Hank Hall/Hawk on the DC series Titans and Arthur Curry/Aquaman in four episodes of Smallville, discussed the persistent rumours about him playing Batman.
In conversation with Variety, he said, "It's not rumor that James Gunn is a fan," Ritchson said. "He said it himself. And am I a fan of James Gunn? Absolutely. I don't want to mislead people. Words have been exchanged about Batman."
Despite being close to Gunn, he suspects that he won't be DC’s co-Ceo’s first choice to play the iteration of the dark knight.
"I strongly don't think that Batman is in my future," he said. However, he looks forward to having a future in DC in another role.
Previously, the actor voiced his desire to play Batman in an interview with Wired, where he said, "I get asked every day if I'm playing Batman. Would I play Batman? Yes. Would I pay handsomely to be Batman? You wouldn't even have to pay me to be Batman. I would don the suit."
Later during the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Josh Horowitz asked Gunn about the possibility of Ritchson playing the character. "I am a big Alan Ritchson fan, both as an actor and as a guy," Gunn said. "Let's just wait to see what happens."
Gunn first announced in 2023 that his rebooted DC Studios would produce two cinematic Batmen simultaneously.
One Batman is being played by Robert Pattinson, who portrayed the character in 2022's The Batman, and will continue to exist in a standalone universe disconnected from other DC heroes. Its long awaited sequel The Batman Part II is currently slated for release in 2027.
Meanwhile, Gunn's other Batman, who has yet to be cast, will serve as the Dark Knight for the DCU.
The interconnected universe which so far consists of Superman, Peacemaker season 2, and the animated Creature Commandos series, and will continue next year with the movie Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and HBO series Lanterns.