Batman is like Bond – the actor has become secondary to the character he plays. And like Bond, Batman is heading in a new direction with a new man behind the mask. With Ben Affleck stepping away from the role, oddsmakers are already betting on who will be up to replace him.
Who will play Batman next?
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “It looks as though Jake Gyllenhaal will be donning the Batman costume in the near future.”
The Donnie Darko actor, who stars as Mysterio in the upcoming Spider-Man Far From Home, has three-to-one odds.
He is followed by Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington with four-to-one odds.
In third place is Mad Men star John Hamm, with six-to-one odds.
Fourth is Black Panther star Michael B Jordan, with seven-to-one odds.
All tied with nine-to-one odds of taking over the Batman mantle are:
Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, both of Call Me By Your Name, Black Panther and This Is Us star Sterling K Brown, and Bodyguard’s Richard Madden.
Milo Ventimiglia of This Is Us follows with 12-to-one odds.
Star Wars’ Oscar Isaac has sixteen to one odds, with Michael Fassbender following at 20-to-one.
Also with 20 to one odds are Steven Yeun of The Walking Dead, and Venom’s Riz Ahmed.
In last place, and with perhaps the longest shot, is James Franco with 33-to-one odds.
Ben Affleck played Bruce Wayne aka Batman since 2016.
Despite Affleck’s popularity, his tenure as Batman was not a hit with critics or at the box office.
Warner Bros’ 2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was Affleck’s first turn in the cape.
From there he played Batman in Suicide Squad and in 2017’s Justice League.
Warner Bros has plenty of DC Comics movies in their lineup.
The studio has a Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix on its schedule, as well as Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey.
Affleck may be leaving the Batman franchise, but he is still a busy actor.
He is staring in Netflix’s upcoming Triple Frontier with Oscar Isaac (Star Wars), Charlie Hunnam (Papillon), Garrett Hedlund (Tron), and Pedro Pascal (Narcos).
The Batman is out in cinemas on June 25, 2021.