James Gunn has insisted Chris Pratt won’t play Batman in the DC Universe (DCU).
The 59-year-old studio head had worked with the actor, 46, on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and while Gunn has teased Pratt won’t suit up as the Dark Knight in the DCU, the director would like to see him play another character.
Speaking with EScorpionGolden about Pratt’s DCU future, Gunn said: “As Batman? No. As something else? Yes.”
The Peacemaker creator added he would “love to do something at DC” with Pratt.
He noted: “I would love for him to do something at DC, but I’d have to think about [what character].”
Several actors have thrown their hats into the ring to play Batman in the DCU, including Jensen Ackles and Alan Ritchson.
The Boys star, 47, recently teased he was open to portraying the Caped Crusader, but insisted it would be “hard to carve out something truly unique” as the character.
When Collider asked Ackles if he would want to play Batman, he said: “Oh, man. I don’t know.
“It would be hard to carve out something truly unique amongst all of the performances as Batman.
“I would probably have to lean heavily on Gunn and whoever’s directing and whoever’s writing it, and get inspiration from the text.”
Ackles added the pressure of playing the iconic superhero would weigh heavily on him, but would still consider portraying the Dark Knight in the DCU.
He said: “You talk about not wanting to fumble the football - that’s one that I would be nervous as hell to carry.
“But also proud. A certain feather in the cap. Anybody who gets to wear the cowl, they got something.”
Meanwhile, Ritchson, 42, said “you wouldn't even have to pay [him]” to star as Batman in the DCU.
During an appearance in WIRED’s Autocomplete Interview video series, he said: “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, yeah, I would don the suit. [In a Batman voice] ‘Gotham is mine.’ Look at that. I don't even have to practice. It just comes out naturally.”
Batman is set to debut in the DCU in The Brave and the Bold, which is being helmed by The Flash director Andy Muschietti and is expected to centre on the father-son dynamic between the Caped Crusader and his accomplice Robin.
DC already has an on-screen Dark Knight with Robert Pattinson’s The Batman, though the 2022 movie and its upcoming sequel The Batman: Part II are Elseworlds projects, and do not take place in the main DCU timeline.
The idea of bringing Pattinson’s Caped Crusader into the DCU and portraying the hero in The Brave and the Bold had been suggested, but Gunn has since rejected it.
The Superman director told Variety: “I wouldn’t rule anything out. He could show up in something else. But the actor doesn’t exist [for Batman in the DCU yet].”
