Batman: John Krasinski rumoured to play Dark Knight in new reboot

The rumour mill works harder than the devil when it comes to who will next play Batman.

Although some of you will likely have your allegiances with either Marvel or DC, there’s no escaping the fact that when superhero 'news' flies, we all hear about it one way or another. The latest rumour to gain traction is that American actor John Krasinski will play Batman in the latest reboot of the Dark Knight.

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A tweet went out on 20 August that simply read “John Krasinski is rumoured to play Batman in Andy Muschetti's The Brave and The Bold”. At the time of writing, that post has attracted 17.6K likes and counting, yet it would seem, like all interesting gossip, that this isn't based on any solid evidence.

When a Twitter user asked James Gunn “I’m assuming rumours about DCU Batman casting have no truth to them?”, Gunn responded pretty darn fast to clear up any misgivings DC fans might have about what’s true and what’s fiction. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” They continued, “We don’t even have a script, and there’s a strike happening, so, no, no casting.”

In case anyone forgot, there are indeed strikes happening across the film industry, meaning that very little news is trickling through in terms of upcoming projects, casting, and so forth; it would be a massive faux pas to break solidarity like that. Still, while the strikes would put the brakes on any news, this doesn’t mean Gunn would necessarily be honest about the rumours anyway. Directors like to keep their secrets in order to surprise and delight fans – if they said yes every time someone was right about gossip, the excitement would quickly wane.

Not that there really is any excitement about Krasinski being the next Batman. As far as quite a few fans are concerned, they just don’t see it ever happening. One Redditor said, “I don’t think he will be Batman and I don’t think Andy will end up directing Batman”, while another post read, “I don't care at this point. Cast whoever. If it works, great. If not, just try again”. That last one really spoke to me, because, right now, so many of us are over the superhero hype. The ride was once enjoyable, but now it’s stale.

The Flash has just become the biggest flop in superhero cinematic history, which tells you everything you need to know. People are ready for something beyond comic books, and while I enjoy a good yarn about heroes, I’m right there with them. Barbie proved that viewers want something fresh to sit through when they go to the movies; Hollywood needs to lead with originality above all else. Whether they will… Well, its track record says otherwise.

As of now, there’s no concrete news regarding who will play Batman.