Jake Gyllenhaal:
DC’s new Batman?
Jake Gyllenhaal about being Batman
There have been many actors who have played Batman in the past few years, and it is likely that there will be many more in the future. And who knows, one of those might actually be Jake Gyllenhaal, who has said he’d love to play Batman if the opportunity ever arises.
Who is Jake Gyllenhaal?
Before actually describing what Jake Gyllenhaal has said about the role of DC’s Batman, let’s share who he is, for the ones who don’t know. Gyllenhaal is an actor who has played in over 30 movies by now, making his first debut in 1991. After that, Gyllenhaal became quite a popular actor and even played in some shows and became famous on Broadway, too.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Superhero Roles
While Gyllenhaal has played in a lot of movies before and is known for having done a great job in all of these; he has never actively played the part of a true DC Superhero. The closest he came to it was playing Mysterio in the Marvel Universe, but even this wasn’t as big of a part as the role of Batman would have been. Besides that, it is also known that Gyllenhaal is friends with some of the DC actors, including the current Batman, Robert Pattinson. Yet, he hasn’t had a role himself yet.
The Interviews about playing DC's Batman
It came out, however, that Jake Gyllenhaal was one of the final contestants to play DC’s Batman in Christopher Nolan’s version, the Dark Knight trilogy. However, he lost the role to Christian Bale. But while Bale was the one to be chosen for the role of Batman, David S. Goyer (a co-writer for the ‘Batman Begins’ story) recently confirmed rumours that Gyllenhaal was actually his personal top pick for the role. Personally, he was called by both writers who told him Bale was just the better fit for it. And while Gyllenhaal did not seem to be fully heartbroken by losing the role, his desire to play Bruce Wayne never left. While doing the press tour for a new movie, Screen Rant asked Gyllenhaal if he would still be interested in playing the role, to which he answered that it is a real classic and would be an honour to be Batman. There is actually a new Batman movie coming up, for which the directors are trying to find a new Batman. Jake Gyllenhaal might be a bit older than most actors in the race to play this role, but he has much experience, and his past roles seem to fit in the same genre.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Losing a Role
Recently, Jake Gyllenhaal opened up a little bit more about what it is like to lose big parts in the final rounds of the auditions - like what happened to him for playing Batman. He says that it is always a disappointment at first, but that it also opens up new opportunities. There is always another audition, always another thing to try. “You keep that attitude,” Gyllenhaal said that you shouldn’t keep picking at the reasons why you didn’t get the role - which sometimes is just as simple as not having the right hair colour. Instead, you need to keep going, which he has been doing.
DC Roles for Jake Gyllenhaal
While it is known that in a few years, someone else will probably take over the Batman role from Robert Pattinson, it might not be Jake Gyllenhaal who will play Batman (even though many fans seem to want this). Yet, there are many other roles opened in the DC Universe, so who might Jake Gyllenhaal play then? Who can we fan-cast him for?
Open Roles
There are many DC characters that haven’t gotten their own solo movie yet. Even many characters that seem to be playing a significant role in the movies or shows of other characters - or that are a big part of a group of superheroes - haven’t gotten their solo part yet. Many fans have been wanting a Green Arrow movie, for example. Or a new Green Lantern movie, to see Lobo in a live adaptation, or to get Nightwing (or any other Robin) a solo part. What if Jake Gyllenhaal would take on one of these roles? There is also Terry McGinnis, who becomes the Batman of Tomorrow and takes over the mantle after Bruce Wayne is too old to still be Batman himself. If Terry gets brought to a DC movie, maybe that would be Gyllenhaal’s perfect opportunity, to still be Batman, yet different. There are also characters that we have never seen an adaption from (whether it be animation or live-action), such as Black Hawk, Jonah Hex, The Question, or Booster Gold. Or maybe there will, at some point, be characters that we might not even know from the comics who Gyllenhaal could play.
What fits Jake Gyllenhaal?
All in all, whether or not Gyllenhaal might end up playing Batman is up for debate. If not, there are many other roles for him to take; it is only up to us - the fans - to see what we think fits him the most. What are your opinions on this? Should Jake Gyllenhaal play any of the roles mentioned above? Or do you actually have a better opinion? Share it with us in the comments!