“An Honour” – Jake Gyllenhaal Discusses Playing Batman

When it comes to superhero roles, Jake Gyllenhaal feels like the almost man. Back in the early 2000s, he was eyed to replace Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2 after issues between Maguire and Sony threatened the future of the franchise. A few years later, he was reported to be in the running for the part of Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. Then, as soon as news broke that Ben Affleck departed The Batman in 2018, every scooper and their dog proclaimed Gyllenhaal was next in line to play the brooding brawler of Gotham City.

Ultimately, Gyllenhaal settled for a consolation prize in the form of playing Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but a performer of his calibre should be leading their own comic book movie – not playing second fiddle to others. Well, maybe the third time’s a charm for the Donnie Darko actor as he’s indicated his interest in playing Batman once again. And hey, wouldn’t you know that the DC Universe’s The Brave and the Bold is looking for a Dark Knight right now…

What Jake Gyllenhaal said about playing Batman

Doing press for Road House, Screen Rant broached the topic of Batman with Jake Gyllenhaal, asking him if he would still be interested in the role. “Oh, man. That’s a classic. It’s an honor,” Gyllenhaal said before cleverfully deflecting the conversation to promote his upcoming role as Iago in Othello. However, the actor came back around to the original topic and added: “It would be an honor always. Those types of things and those roles are classics.”

While Gyllenhaal isn’t begging for the role here, this is a clear “come and get me” message to DC Studios’ co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran. He also repeated the same answer when Extra asked him about the chances of him playing the Caped Crusader, admitting he “would be flattered” to be in the running.

Much like Alan Ritchson discussed the Batman rumours, Gyllenhaal isn’t playing coy or avoiding the topic. Instead, he’s embracing the nature of the internet to campaign for him and using it as an opportunity to get his name onto the shortlist of actors for the part. 

Would James Gunn consider him as the Dark Knight?

Judging from what James Gunn has said about the upcoming Bat-flick, The Brave and the Bold, the film centres on the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian. Resultantly, it’s unlikely the DCU’s Batman will be too young or at the beginning of his career – unless he became a father in high school and popped up on MTV’s Teen Mom. So, don’t expect to see an actor in their 20s or early 30s playing the Bat here – since that’s Robert Pattinson’s shtick in the Reevesverse (if that’s even still happening).

In all likelihood, Gunn and Co. will look at actors in their late 30s or early 40s for the part. At 43, Gyllenhall fits comfortably into this category. What he also has in his favour is his youthful appearance, so it’s possible for him to even play an early-to-mid-30s Batman if required. But will Gunn pick him?

For Superman, Gunn selected a popular fan casting in the form of David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. Truth be told, Corenswet’s name had done the rounds in forums and social media for several years – way before Gunn took the reins at DC. This shows that the filmmaker-turned-executive pays close attention to what fans are saying online about potential castings. Considering the perilous situation that the studio finds itself in at the moment due to numerous box office failings, there’s no way Gunn will take a casting gamble that may upset the fanbase. Fortunately for Gyllenhaal, most fans have given him the thumbs-up as Batman, so it’s likely Gunn would do the same here, too.

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Would he make a good Batman, though?

As an actor, Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t shy away from taking risks. Whether it be Brokeback Mountain or Nightcrawler, he takes roles that no one would have expected him to grab. Undoubtedly, this showcases versatility, but also demonstrates to the audience how he can portray a wide range of characters and understands deeper characterizations that deal with duality. Neither the personas of Batman or Bruce Wayne should be an issue for him to play then. In fact, it isn’t too difficult to imagine him portraying a Dark Knight in the same vein as Christian Bale’s. 

In terms of physicality, one only needs to watch Southpaw and Road House to see the lengths he’s willing to go to in order to bulk up and accurately play fighters on screen. It wouldn’t be too outrageous to think he would do the same – or even take it further – to play Batman. 

There’s no disputing Jake Gyllenhaal’s talent and he appears to be more than keen to suit up as Batman, but anything can happen in the wacky world of Warner Bros. and DC. It’s usually when it makes the most sense that this studio goes in the opposite direction.

Tell us, would you like to see Jake Gyllenhaal as Batman? Let us know in the comments.