It makes sense. But now that someone is actually reporting it, the news sends a shockwave that the geek brain still can’t quite process. But Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears to be a lock to play Batman in Warner Bros.’ planned Justice League movie, which continues to take shape.
The news comes from HitFix’s reliable Drew McWeeny, who says sources have confirmed that the actor “absolutely will be appearing in Justice League as the new Batman.” That’s massive news. And yet, for those who watched the end of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, they understand where this line of thinking is coming from. We watched Gordon-Levitt’s character, John Blake, assuming the role of Batman by walking into the Bat Cave, led there by a retired (and, amazingly, still alive) Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale). McWeeny says that those scenes led to speculation, which morphed into a conversation, which transitioned into a plan.
Here’s where it continues to get really interesting. McWeeny reports that Warner might want to get JGL into a Bat suit before the JLA movie gets underway. And he imagines a scene near the end of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel -- really the only D.C. property on the horizon – that sets up a Batman/Superman combo and leads to Justice League.
I know. Insane. But really, when you step back from the coolness of the announcement, it’s not that far-fetched. Nolan likely was helping Warner as they laid some groundwork for an eventual Justice League movie. The studio has to keep pace with Marvel and The Avengers, and there are no reasons to let Gordon-Levitt assume the Batman role if you’re not going to let him play it out in future movies.
We’ll have to wait for studio confirmation, but for now, what do you think of this news?
