10 Actors Who Should Replace Ben Affleck As Batman

Whisper it, but there may be a possibility that Ben Affleck won't be involved in The Batman at all.

He's already scaled back his involvement, dropping his writing credit and vacating the director's chair and now there are some rumblings that he may be compelled to leave the project entirely. Mercifully, right now he says he's committed to playing Bruce Wayne, but the rumour mill seems to suggest that something is amiss and the conspiracy theorists among Bat-fans have leapt on the idea that there's more the situation than meets the eye.

And then this...

Uh-oh. So what now?

There are some incredible choices that are now completely beyond the realms of reality: Jeffrey Dean Morgan has now already played a Wayne, so Bruce is unlikely; Alec Baldwin is too old; Michael Keaton too far gone... But imagine any of them playing an older, wizened Batman for a minute. It's enough to get you Bat-moist.

So who SHOULD Warner Bros turn to if the rumours of Ben Affleck's possible departure turn out to be concrete?

He may currently be riding the crest of a wave as Hollywood's newest answer to Gene Kelly, but Ryan Gosling has proved in the past that he's adept at playing characters steeped in symbolism who trade more on their mythology than on dialogue. Sure, so it didn't work quite as well in Only God Forgives as it did in Drive, but in both cases, Gosling's ability to exude a sort of strong, silent cool and power should not be ignored.

He probably doesn't quite have the voice for Batman, but then Michael Keaton didn't either, and it would be a nice change of direction to go from Ben Affleck's hulking brute to a leaner, cleaner Bat who HAS to rely on his ability to instil fear in his enemies rather than just punching them through walls.

And that sort of reduced physicality could also translate into a more demure take on the character, focusing more on detective work than ripping back muscles. Which probably wouldn't be the worst thing.