New Batman Casting Favorite Breaks Silence on DCU Fan Campaign (But There’s One Problem)

Ever since filmmaker James Gunn was given the top job at DC Studios and confirmed that the interconnected DCU would not only have a brand new Superman but its own Batman (one he maintains will be separate from Robert Pattinson’s version of the character), fans have been wondering, theorizing, and pleading to the powers that be about who it might be. Discussion has been rampant for years now about who will play the Caped Crusader in The Brave and the Bold movie that’s in development, with names like Alan Ritchson, Jensen Ackles, Brandon Sklenar, and more to put on the cowl.

The latest actor to be put up as a potential Dark Knight Detective is Love Story actor Paul Anthony Kelly, who plays JFK Jr. in the new FX series. Thanks to his dashing good looks, and especially his jawline, fans have immediately taken to him as someone who could fit the profile of not only the hero in the costume but Bruce Wayne in his off hours. Speaking with GQ, Kelly was asked about the fan demand to get him to suit up as Batman in the DCU, saying, “If that’s what they say, then who am I to say no?”

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Further pondering the potential of becoming Batman, Kelly also replied, “That would be a dream come true.” Beyond the looks, Kelly has another thing that is working in his favor as one of the candidates fans have put up to play Batman in the DCU: his age.

As of this writing, Kelly is 37 years old, putting him five years ahead of Superman actor David Corenswet, but in truth, that would make sense for the DCU. Based on what we know about the plans for The Brave and the Bold, Batman in the film will already be established, with the plan being to bring the larger Bat-Family to the big screen in a way that’s never been done before. If the DCU Batman is supposed to be old enough that he’ll have a 10-year-old son in Damian Wayne, it would mean he must have been Batman for at least that long too. As a result, someone slightly older than Superman makes sense.

Another element about Kelly as a performer that makes him pretty appealing to play the DCU’s Batman is that he’s still a fresh face in Hollywood. Originally a model, Kelly was cast as JFK jr. despite having no prior experience as an actor. As a result, beyond the new FX series, audiences don’t know him well enough to have pigeonhole him as one type of performer. In the same way that David Corenswet was able to step into the role of Superman with few preconceived notions from the audience (his biggest credits being the horror movie Pearl and Twisters), Kelly could become Batman without the audience immediately associating him with something else on a major scale.

There is, of course, one major roadblock in front of Kelly in becoming Batman, and it’s that the DCU does not appear to be in any rush to officially cast that part. Though there have been plenty of references already in the DCU to this mysterious new Caped Crusader (he even has an appearance already in the animated Creature Commandos), for the time being, Robert Pattinson’s version of Batman will be the only one seen on the big screen for at least a few years. As a result, by the time casting for Batman comes around, Kelly might be booked and busy with something else, or another new favorite may have made themselves clear.