With the way The Dark Knight Rises ended, it was inevitable that there would be some speculation as to whether Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be donning Batman’s cape and cowl for either the Justice League film or another Batman reboot.
At first, the odds of Gordon-Levitt continuing with any DC character seemed slim, especially since Christopher Nolan insisted that the summer blockbuster was his last Batman film, and his involvement with that world was done, leading to assumptions that the actors he worked with wouldn’t be continuing in their roles.
However, Gordon-Levitt hasn’t ruled out an appearance in Justice League. He’s dodged the topic a bit, but said that if the script and the director were right he would definitely consider it, keeping hope alive for those fans who loved him in The Dark Knight Rises.
Tonight Hitfix brings news that may put speculation to rest. Not only will Gordon-Levitt be in Justice League, but he will be starring as Batman. Check out their definite statement below.
According to sources, Joseph Gordon-Levitt absolutely will be appearing in Justice League as the new Batman.
It originally seemed likely that if Gordon-Levitt were to be involved with the Justice League he would play either Robin or Nightwing, but it isn’t too much of a stretch to see him as the Dark Knight either. Gordon-Levitt is an extremely talented actor who seems to be getting better with each role he takes on.
If Warner Bros. wants to maintain some form of continuity from their most successful superhero films, Gordon-Levitt is really the only choice. Christian Bale already said he isn’t interested in staying on as Batman if Nolan isn’t directing, so Gordon-Levitt it is.
The problem with maintaining that continuity is that Gordon-Levitt’s character isn’t Bruce Wayne. Fans may not take kindly to John Blake working as Batman instead of the iconic billionaire that has been the staple of the character forever.
It doesn’t seem like audiences would receive Justice League more favorably just because it has some continuity from Nolan’s films, but then again the majority of Batman fans loved the trilogy, so Warner may be trying to syphon some of that success into their post-Nolan DC films.
That being said, if Warner does have Gordon-Levitt as Batman, they ought to make him Bruce Wayne and ignore the connections to The Dark Knight trilogy. Those three films were absolutely phenomenal, but no film is good enough to start a new franchise around a Batman who isn’t Bruce Wayne. Fans would not take well to a non-Wayne Batman, even if they loved The Dark Knight Rises. Justice League and its spin-off films have the potential to be a long-running franchise. To remove Bruce Wayne wouldn’t do the character or the universe justice.
Click below to read about the possibilities of a pre-Justice League Batman appearance…