There's Only One Superhero Glen Powell Wants To Play

Glen Powell is nuclear levels of hot right now. He’s been acting for decades, getting his start in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. However, recent appearances in Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You have propelled him into superstardom. He co-wrote Hit Man (a film based on a Skip Hollandsworth novel) with Richard Linklater. That film makes its debut on Netflix next week. Then he’ll appear in the much anticipated Twisters.

He’s hot! Smokin’, even! The Hollywood Reporter put him on a list of ten new A-List movie stars, and he’s at least ten years older than almost everyone on it. The star recently went on a Warner Brothers Studio Tour with Ben Allen of GQ, and they asked the question every in-demand talent gets asked: what superhero do you want to play?

I don’t know if you know this, but superhero movies dominating the filmscape is something that has yet to die. People still shell out big bucks to see folks in tights and/or oddly padded body suits go toe to toe with other similarly dressed folks. Has there been a dip in the popularity of superhero films? Sure. But their death will be long and slow.

When asked if he had any superheroic aspirations, Powell went for the whole cape and cowl. “I was always a Batman guy,” Powell told Allen. “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. Oh, sick!” The actor exclaimed, finding the 1989 Batmobile on the tour. “See? This is the era.”

This could just be a Brick Tamland-esque answer. Powell saw something in the room he could reference and took the easy route. Still, his saying he has a “wild” take gets the imagination flowing. Batman on screen has been grim and gritty for almost twenty years now. Something more fun could be enticing. Especially if he were to play the caped crusader in The Brave and the Bold.

James Gunn has yet to cast a Batman for his DCU, with Robert Pattinson’s version being labeled as an alternate universe. Gunn has revealed that the upcoming film The Brave and the Bold would see Batman team up with his son, Damian Wayne. Damian is a deadly assassin who takes up the mantle of Robin. He’s a great character, albeit a gritty one. Pairing him with an older, perhaps grizzled Bruce Wayne isn’t terribly exciting. But there is another option.

When Damian first became Robin, his dad was presumed dead but actually lost in time after being hit by Darkseid’s Omega Beams (it makes sense, don’t question it). Instead of teaming with Bruce, Damian was paired with the original Robin, Dick Grayson, who had taken over as Batman in Bruce’s stead. Grayson portrayed a lighter, friendlier Batman who would… smile. It was a fantastic juxtaposition to a Robin who was out for blood.

Powell would excel as a former Robin turned Batman. It could make sense, given that Gunn has hinted at his DCU being a bit more lived-in. It would also accommodate the “wild” take he claims to have. Dick Grayson as Batman could easily reflect the Keaton-era shenanigans we all know and love. I think I just talked myself into this.