Alan Ritchson Would Be a Great Batman (But Here’s Someone Even Better)

With Superman currently flying high at the box office, fans have naturally turned their attention to another flagship DC character: Batman. The entertainment news corner of the internet is brimming with articles about who should play the DC Universe’s Caped Crusader. Names like Jensen Ackles and Glen Powell keep getting tossed around as writers scour Hollywood for any attractive actor in his late 30s/early 40s with Dark Knight energy. At the moment, Reacher star Alan Ritchson appears to be the frontrunner for the role – at least as far as fans are concerned.

However, we can’t help but think another actor is being entirely overlooked as the actor who should take over the role: Zac Efron.

Casting the High School Musical Kid as Batman Isn’t as Crazy as It Sounds

Look, we think Ritchson would make a great Batman — he’s certainly got the right physique for the role — but there’s someone we think would make an even better Batman, and it’s the actor whose breakout role came in a Disney musical. Are you laughing right now? We don’t blame you if you are. The High School Musical guy as Batman, how ridiculous is that?

It’s about as ridiculous as casting Beetlejuice as Batman or Patrick Bateman. Just imagine how crazy it would be if the lead from Twilight was cast to play Bruce Wayne. We’ll assume you get our point. Part of the reason casting Zac Efron as Batman works so well is that it’s out of left field. The three most beloved big-screen portrayals of Batman — Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson — were all unconventional choices, which would fall in line with Efron.

Alan Ritchson Is the Safe Choice for Batman

No shade to Ritchson, but he might be the safest casting choice in DC history. Fans act like he was born to play the role, and who knows? Maybe he was, but we can almost guarantee he won’t bring anything new to the table. At least nothing he hasn’t already given audiences as Aquaman on Smallville, or Hawk on Titans, or heck, even Reacher. The point is, Alan Ritchson has played a buff guy who roughs up villains plenty of times, enough that we have a decent picture of what an Alan Ritchson Batman would look like.

Meanwhile, Zac Efron is best known for three things: Disney Channel musicals, raunchy comedies, and Ted Bundy. None of his previous roles screams, “Cast this guy as Batman!” and that’s ironically why he’s perfect for the role. Historically, when actors not accustomed to playing characters like The Dark Knight get the part, they tend to work twice as hard to prove they deserve it.

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Keaton struggled to convince fans that scrawny Mr. Mom could play Gotham’s vigilante protector, and when you watch Batman, you can see that struggle paying off onscreen. The whole internet laughed at Matt Reeves’s decision to cast Robert Pattinson, the sparkly emo vampire, in The Batman. No one was laughing when the movie grossed almost a billion dollars at the box office, thanks in no small part to Pattinson’s tortured depiction of Bruce Wayne.

Zac Efron Definitely Has the Right Physique to Play the Caped Crusader

Obviously, being an unorthodox choice isn’t the only reason to recommend Efron for the role. If that were true, we’d say, “Cast Paul Walter Hauser,” and be done with it. No, there are many conventional reasons why Efron would make an excellent DCU Batman. For starters, he has the muscles. Just look at how imposing the actor was as Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw. The 2023 wrestling biopic also showcases Efron’s ability to do more serious acting, lest you think Neighbors is the height of his thespian talents.

It also helps that the actor is objectively attractive, making him a natural fit for a playboy billionaire like Bruce Wayne. If you’ve ever seen him on the red carpet, then you already know he can rock a suit. As an added bonus, the Baywatch star also has the perfect jawline for Batman’s cowl. He also has the piercing blue eyes that Bruce Wayne is supposed to have canonically, although admittedly, that’s not as important as the other stuff.

He’s Old Enough on the Outside and Young Enough on the Inside

In addition to everything else, Zac Efron is the right age — 37 — for the kind of Batman James Gunn is reportedly looking for. Old enough to convincingly portray the father of Damien Wayne at least, providing, of course, that The Brave and the Bold sticks relatively close to the source material.

Perhaps more important than anything else, though, is Efron’s easygoing aura. That’s essential if James Gunn decides to take the same approach with Batman that he did with Superman and goes for a lighter tone than the DC Extended Universe. Obviously, we’re not talking about going full-on Wham! Bam! ’60s Batman, but if the goal is to have a Caped Crusader that doesn’t look like he’s brooding all the time, the boyish twinkle in Efron’s eyes would go a long way towards achieving it.

Ultimately, Zac Efron may not be the Batman DC fans want, but he’s the one they deserve. As for the overly muscled Ritchson, there’s always Bane.