This is turning into the summer of Glen Powell… if not the year of Glen Powell, in general. The Top Gun: Maverick co-star has a new documentary out about the Blue Angels, as well as the critically acclaimed rom-com Hit Man, coming to Netflix but also in select theaters. In July, Powell will join Daisy Edgar-Jones in a spiritual continuation of Twisters. And after finally catching up with Powell and Sydney Sweeney in the charming Anyone But You, I’m basically ready to admit that Powell can just about do anything, and make it work in Hollywood.
Except maybe Batman.
Now, I’m not trying to force a superhero role on every hot young actor. Despite the fact that I think the comic-book genre is poised for a roaring return – both for Marvel and DC – the industry still needs plenty of actors who are willing to do their own thing, and provide alternate forms of programming. However, in a recent interview with GQ, Glen Powell brought up the idea of possibly playing Batman on his own, telling the magazine:
I was always a Batman guy. I would have a wild take on Batman. It definitely would not be like a Matt Reeves tone – it’d probably be closer to Keaton.
It would have to be. Glen Powell is a fine actor, but he plays a certain type: confident, arrogant, cocky, charming… not exactly dark and brooding, like Batman. And even while Powell couches it to say that he’d prefer to do something along the lines of Michael Keaton in the Tim Burton Batman movies, that role was NOT the typical Dark Knight. In fact, because Keaton was more of a merry prankster, fans kinda rejected the idea of him playing Batman. It worked when we saw it, but I don’t think Powell is the right person to try on the cape and cowl.
Powell’s even a little too charismatic to pull off Bruce Wayne, something that dogged George Clooney when he stepped into the Batman role. Clooney had his tongue planted firmly in his cheek while playing Batman, and has done nothing but complain about it since. Even if Powell tried to do a “wild take” on the Batman mythology, I just don’t see it working. Powell is cut from different cloth.
Now, if he’d really like a shot at a superhero role, and wants to keep it in DC, I think Glen Powell could be an ideal choice to play Booster Gold in James Gunn’s developing comic book universe. In fact, I’m not the first person on CinemaBlend to recommend this, so maybe Powell should pick up a few issues of the Booster Gold comics. And we will hang back to see who Gunn believes should be his Batman, because one of the upcoming DC movies on the radar is The Brave and the Bold, featuring Bruce and Damian Wayne. Now that will be a “wild take” on the Batman mythology, and likely different from anything else we have ever seen.
