For most DC fans, that epic Superman trailer dispelled any doubts about David Corenswet’s casting in James Gunn’s new DC cinematic universe. With the Man of Steel safely in Corenswet’s hands, everyone – fan or not – is probably asking the same question: Who will be the next Batman?
While Robert Pattinson is killing it in The Batman Epic Crime Saga (that’s the official term for the Reevesverse, by the way,) we all know Matt Reeves and James Gunn have wholly different visions and brand identities. As far as we know, Pattinson won’t cross paths with Corenswet in DC films – at least not until we reach the inevitable Multiverse chapter of the DCU.
Fortunately, fans have been watching one particular actor for as long as the need for a new Batman has existed. Most would say that seeing Alan Ritchson embodying Jack Reacher in Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher was the moment everyone found out who should be the new Dark Knight – but for DC fans, that feeling goes way back. Smallville did more than establish Ritchson as the perfect Aquaman: that series made it clear he should be on speed dial should Warner ever need a new Caped Crusader.
That dream casting never happened. While we got some incredibly talented Batmen since Smallville, fans have been wondering what could have been now more than ever, seeing how his Reacher role embodies all the qualities of the perfect live-action Batman.
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Reacher fans are in for a treat, however. Season 3 is just around the corner, and it looks downright amazing. The show’s second season stumbled a bit because it felt like just another police procedural – instead of showing us the One Man Army Reacher we know and love. The latest trailer shows Reacher acting mostly solo again, going against hardened criminals in his unique Reacher style.
Among those criminals, one stands out (for obvious reasons). Dutch bodybuilder-turned-actor Olivier Richters will stand against Reacher this season as Paulie, a towering criminal with a physique that’s somehow even more imposing than Ritchson’s.
Just one look at them standing against each other is all DC fans needed to see to realize something magical. James Gunn hasn’t just found his Batman – he just came across the next Bane as well.
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Bane is one of Batman’s most iconic villains – mostly because he is one of the few members in his Rogues Gallery that could best him in hand-to-hand combat. At the same time, Bane (when he’s not directed by Joel Schumacher) is just as smart as the Dark Knight, turning him into a veritable powerhouse of Gotham’s criminal underworld.
Chances are, unless your last name is Björnsson, you won’t find a guy that’s bigger than Alan Ritchson so easily. Fortunately, Olivier Richters is a good 20cm (around 8″) taller than Ritchson. With a physique like that, it’s no wonder he was picked by Marvel to play Ursa Major in Black Widow, a mutant with the power to turn into a bear.
With his towering physique and background playing some of the meanest characters in recent action films, Olivier Richters is more than fit to become the new Bane. If Ritchson proved he can become the kind of Batman who’s as strong as he’s “the world’s greatest detective,” then you’ll need someone as imposing as Richters to stand against him.
RELATED: Alan Ritchson Says He Could Fight All His Fast X Cast Members – “I’d Take Them All”
Tell us, would you like to see Reacher‘s Alan Ritchson as Batman?
