“Who will be the next Batman?” It’s a question often on the minds of fans and the powers that be at Warner Bros., especially at a time like this when a new era of upcoming DC movies is on the horizon. Sure, there’s Robert Pattinson’s return for The Batman: Part II iset for 2026, but we should expect to see another Dark Knight in The Brave and the Bold and for James Gunn’s new DC Universe. One name that has been thrown around lately is Glen Powell.
Powell has, of course, been everywhere lately, from his winning rom-com Anyone But You, to Netflix’s Hit Man and one of this summer’s big box office draws, Twisters. Recently, eagle-eyed DC fans noticed the actor followed numerous names from the DC Universe franchise, leading to fans talking about his potential casting. The latest name to talk about Powell in connection to Batman is the voice of the animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader.
When I spoke to Hamish Linklater, alongside a handful of other journalists at San Diego Comic Con, the actor was asked about his thoughts about the future of Batman in James Gunn’s DCU. He answered simply by blurting out “Glen Powell,” and leaving it at that. Linklater certainly doesn’t want to take the live-action mantle himself, as he followed up with these words:
It’s pretty cool seeing the animated version of me, and I don’t know how much fear it would strike in the hearts of criminals if they saw Hamish Linklater driving down the street in his spandex.
Linklater did just offer a stunning new take on the iconic DC hero in Batman: Caped Crusader, which has Bruce Wayne’s life and times being presented in the 1940’s in the early days of his time as a vigilante. The Amazon series sets up a ton of villains fans know and love, from Harley Quinn to Penguin to Two-Face. In terms of the animated Batman space, Linklater also told us he was searching to carve his own place in the legacy after Kevin Conroy became such a definitive voice.
Aside from Glen Powell being such a huge name right now in Hollywood, he has some roots with Batman, since he had a small part in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. When he was asked about how he might take on the role, Powell said he’d have a “wild take” on the hero that would be much “closer to Keaton” than what we recently saw with Robert Pattinson.
Time will, of course, tell who plays Batman next, but it’s fun to hear another Batman actor is thinking about Glen Powell for it. You gotta check out Hamish Linklater in Batman: Caped Crusader, now streaming for those with an Amazon Prime subscription.
