According to a new rumor, Warner Bros. requested digital mock-ups for The Batman featuring Kit Harington as the caped crusader. Beyond Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) being set to write and direct, we still know very little about the next solo Batman movie. In fact, we aren't even certain whether or not Ben Affleck will be in it.

Affleck first played Bruce Wayne in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and returned to the role in last year's Justice League. He was originally going to write and direct The Batman himself, but is now only producing (and possibly starring) in the movie. We recently learned that The Batman is set to begin filming in spring 2019, so hopefully it won't be too much longer before we get some concrete casting news.

In the meantime, all we have are rumors - though this latest rumor is pretty interesting. According to Revenge of the Fans, this summer Warner Bros. requested digital mock-ups for The Batman featuring two actors. One of the actors was not revealed, but the other was Kit Harington, who is currently best known for playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones.


It's important to note that this doesn't mean Harington is, or ever has has been, in formal talks to play a young Bruce Wayne in The Batman. It's not uncommon for concept art and previsualization work to begin before casting, and studios will often request digital mock-ups featuring actors who generally fit the role. Revenge of the Fans' Editor-in-Chief, Mario-Francisco Robles, notes that "there’s no reason to believe this went anywhere. It may have, and it may not have." In fact, he doesn't even think that Harington is the most likely of the two actors whose mock-ups were requested:

What’s interesting about the other actor - the one I’m not comfortable sharing just yet - is that he’s far closer to the Affleck mold than any of these other names I’ve heard. Because of that, I think he may end up being the actual frontrunner - which is why I don’t want to run it until I’m absolutely positive.

We know that Reeves' script for The Batman focuses on a young Bruce Wayne in his early days as a superhero, so Harington would fit the bill - especially since his Game of Thrones filming commitments are finally over. However, this a highly coveted role and there are a lot of eager young actors with strong jawlines in Hollywood, so Harington has some steep competition. We'll keep you updated on any further casting developments as The Batman creeps closer to the start of production.

KEY RELEASE DATES

  • Aquaman (2018) release date: Dec 21, 2018
  • Joker (2019) release date: Oct 04, 2019
  • Wonder Woman 2 (2019) release date: Nov 01, 2019
  • Shazam! (2019) release date: Apr 05, 2019