Well, that didn’t take very long. It hasn’t even been a week after Ben Affleck confirms he will no longer play Batman and we now have a major report on his replacement. According to the blog site, Revenge of the Fans, actor Armie Hammer is in “final talks” for the role. If everything goes well, barring any “major setbacks,” Hammer will play the caped crusader in Matt Reeves’ upcoming Batman trilogy.

This is obviously a huge rumor, but the timing is fitting. Earlier this month, Reeves finally gave fans an update saying the script is nearly complete, after a few more polishes. Thankfully, Warner Bros. has given the director plenty of time to craft his story, which is smart given Revees’ amazing work on the Planet of the Apes franchise. The director describes his take on Batman as “a noir detective story” that may include multiple villains in the character’s rich rogue gallery. 

I highly doubt there will be as much backlash on Hammer’s casting as there was for Affleck, assuming this rumor ends up being true. First off, the days of fanboys throwing fits online about a superhero casting is about as old as NBA fans burning their favorite player’s jersey for switching teams. I think these directors know what they’re doing, case in point Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Heath Ledger as Joker, and of course, Affleck as Batman. 

Remember, a little over ten years ago Hammer was set to play Batman in George Miller’s Justice League: Mortal before the project fell apart. If Miller, and especially Reeves, see Hammer as a great fit for the next Bruce Wayne, then I’m all in. I have more faith these days in DC’s solo films and not their team-up films, with Shazam! and Wonder Woman 1984 shaping up to be a great time at the theaters.

What have it comic books fans? Is Hammer a great fit as the next Dark Knight? Do you have another choice in mind? Are you even looking forward to more Batman movies? Reeves’ The Batman is excepted to hit theaters on June 25th, 2021. Stay tuned here at Apocaflix! as we’ll be keeping the site up-to-date as more news begins to trickle out!