After starring in Smallville and Titans, Reacher’s Alan Ritchson gets imagined as the Dark Knight for James Gunn’s DC Universe in new Batman fan art.

Alan Ritchson as Aquaman on Smallville and Hawk on Titans with Batman from DC Comics custom news image

SUMMARY

 Smallville and Titans’ Alan Ritchson expressed interest in playing Batman for James Gunn’s DC Universe.
Fan art by Hasan Kazi and Arifinity imagines Ritchson in different versions of Batman’s costume.
Batman: The Brave and The Bold will draw elements from Grant Morrison’s comic run and explore Bruce’s relationship with his son Damian Wayne.

New Batman: The Brave and The Bold fan art sees Smallville and Titans’ Alan Ritchson suiting up as the Caped Crusader for James Gunn’s DC Universe.

While Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe is still happening under the Elseworlds banner, Gunn and Peter Safran are working on their own version of the Dark Knight in the DC Universe. Batman: The Brave and The Bold was one of the first Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters” films to be announced back in January 2023, although no casting announcements have happened yet.

With the DC audience constantly wondering who will be tapped to headline the Batman: The Brave and The Bold movie, Ritchson recently spoke out about being interested in taking on the role for Gunn’s DC Universe. It didn’t take long for DC Universe fan art to emerge after this, showing how he would look as Batman.

Hasan Kazi made a design of Ritchson in a very armored version of the costume, drawing a lot of inspiration from the Batman: Arkham video games.

Arifinity also shared artwork of Ritchson as Batman, using Ben Affleck’s suit from the DCEU timeline that adapted the costume from The Dark Knight Returns. If Ritchson got cast as Batman, it would mark his third DC role after playing Aquaman on Smallville and Hawk on Titans.

What We Know About James Gunn’s Batman Plans In The DC Universe

 

Batman Caped Crusader DC
Damian Wayne in Robin costume in DC Comics Damian Wayne and Batman in DC Comics and The Brave and the Bold Red Hood is taking a selfie, in the background is Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, and other Bat-Family members.
Ezra Miller and Andy Muschietti in official The Flash promotional behind the scenes image

As of right now, Batman: The Brave and The Bold will be the first DC Universe movie that the audience sees Bruce Wayne in, unless he makes a cameo in a different movie before his own project.

The movie will be drawing elements from Grant Morrison’s acclaimed Batman comic run, and provide the live-action introduction of his son Damian Wayne. Batman: The Brave and The Bold will thus seemingly focus on Bruce tackling fatherhood and his complicated relationship with his biological child.

With Batman already established in the DC Universe, it also means the Bat-Family has come a long way in this continuity. According to Gunn and Safran, some members of the Bat-Family will be featured in Batman: The Brave and The Bold, although it’s unclear which characters will be used at this point. Another Batman-related project is also in the works, as Gunn recently confirmed that the Arkham TV show by Matt Reeves will actually be part of the DC Universe.

While Andy Muschietti is directing Batman: The Brave and The Bold, it remains to be seen who is writing the script. In terms of other plans related to Batman in the DC Universe, time will tell what else DC Studios is planning to tackle from his mythology. As the world enters 2024, Gunn and DC Studios will hopefully have some huge Batman: The Brave and The Bold updates to share sooner rather than later.