Alan Ritchson has proven to be a welcome addition to the action genre, leading Amazon’s Reacher into two seasons so far (with a third in the works). And while he has dabbled in the superhero genre before, Ritchson may be ready to take on one of the biggest comic book heroes ever, declaring that Batman is the one for him.
When asked about his career bucket list, Ritchson suggested that playing Batman easily stands at the top, saying, “I would love to play Batman. There, I said it, OK? I’ll shout it from the rooftops: I wanna be Bruce Wayne!” He added that he admires the Caped Crusader not just because of his prominence in the world of comics but because of how smart he is. “Here’s the thing about Batman – you know what his superpower is? Intelligence. Dude is the smartest superhero there is. Like, he’s inventive and he’s got all the gadgets stuff, but he’s super smart. I want to be that guy and also to have…a cave with hypercars, sports cars, and awesome motorcycles…I’m into that stuff.” So there it is, the latest pitch to have Alan Ritchson play Batman – from Ritchson himself!
The call to have Alan Ritchson play Batman in the DC Universe – particularly in the forthcoming The Brave and the Bold – has been met with some controversy. Sure, the actor no doubt has the bulk if the character is taken in that direction and can deliver on action-oriented scenes, but can he pull off the character as a whole? Ritchson isn’t exactly known to be a complex actor, which has caused some failure with even the most famous of Batman portrayers. Much will depend on just how the DC Universe will choose to present Batman on the big screen going forward, but right now, Ritchson doesn’t have 100% fan support.
Outside of his Batman hopes, Alan Ritchson has a fairly busy first part of the year, with drama Ordinary Angels out in February and Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare due later this month.
Do you think Alan Ritchson could successfully portray Batman? If not, who do you see taking on the character going forward?