There’s been a whole lot of chatter about Alan Ritchson and his potential to play Batman in the DCU, and he’s actively been a part of that conversation. However, now he’s put it to rest (for now). That’s because, at San Diego Comic-Con, he fully addressed the rumors, noting that while Bruce Wayne is probably out of the equation for now, his conversations with DC are by no means over.
This comes just days after Ritchson made suspicious comments about Batman and DC, saying that “the future is bright, and the horizons are broad.” However, during Reacher’s panel at Comic-Con, he was a lot clearer about the Caped Crusader specifically, saying:
I feel like I have to address this, because it comes up all the time. I don’t ever want to lead somebody on to feel like maybe – I’ve had a lot of conversations with DC about what to do, because we’d like to work together. Never say never; maybe Batman is in the future, but I don’t think it is, because we’re having conversations about another character.
Again, there’s been a ton of chatter about Ritchson and Batman, specifically. So, this statement from the actor is huge, because it essentially puts those rumors to rest, while also making it clear that a new kind of speculation can begin. To hammer that point home even further, he said:
I just don’t think Batman is in the cards for me, as much as I would love to do it.
Well, that answer sounds definitive, so it seems Bat-fans can finally lay down their speculation caps. Check out Ritchson's address during the panel:
This all came after Ritchson said he was booked until 2028, and the moderator made a comment about Batman. The Reacher star cleared the air once and (seemingly) for all. He’s not playing him. However, he is also still very much in conversation with DC.
He’s made it apparent that he and DC’s boss James Gunn have talked, and he’s excited to potentially work with him. They just have to find the right character first. Well, it seems like they have someone in mind…it’s just not the one we all thought it could be.
That’s exciting in its own right, though, because a door full of possibilities just opened. Like, maybe he could play Orion or Hawkman or even Captain Atom. So, while it seems like we won’t see Ritchson in a DC project for a while, and we very much will not see him as Batman, it feels like someday he will step into a superhero (or maybe villain) costume.
If you’d like to see Alan Ritchson actually in action while we wait for updates on the superhero front, you can watch him as an action hero in Reacher. That’s the show he was at Comic-Con for, and Season 4 is set to premiere on the 2026 TV schedule on August 12 for those with a Prime Video subscription. It’s also already in production on Season 5 (proving just how busy Ritchson is), so we’ll likely see more of him as Jack Reacher before we see a DC project from him.
However, if there’s anything you should take away from this story, it’s that Alan Ritchson’s future with DC is very much bright, and they have someone in mind for him to play (it’s just not Batman).
