The fans voting comes after it was confirmed that Ben Affleck won't make a return as the Caped Crusader in the highly-anticipated stand-alone film which has Matt Reeves attached as director.
- Feb 12, 2019
AceShowbiz - "Outlander" star Sam Heughan has been picked as Batman fans' top choice to play the Caped Crusader in director Matt Reeves new movie.
The Scot, who once auditioned to play James Bond and is still interested in that role, picked up 98,000 votes in a new Just Jared survey to come in first, while Jensen Ackles finished second with over 67,000 votes.
The poll came about when it was confirmed Ben Affleck would be stepping down at "The Batman" for Reeves' much-anticipated stand-alone movie.
The actor/director was originally lined-up to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman from the "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", "Suicide Squad", and "Justice League" films in the new project, and at one stage was set to direct from a script he had co-written, but Reeves took over the movie in February, 2017, and on 30 January, studio executives from Warner Bros. confirmed that Affleck will not be in the film, which is set to be released in the summer of 2021.
Reports suggest the project will centre on a younger Batman, with a search currently underway for an actor to play the Caped Crusader.
Even though Affleck had been influential in getting the movie off the ground, he appeared to be happy with the outcome, tweeting, "Excited for #TheBatman in Summer 2021 and to see @MattReevesLA vision come to life (sic)."
Details about the script for "The Batman" remain under wraps, although Joe Manganiello has been attached to play Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, while J.K. Simmons and Jeremy Irons are rumoured to be reprising their roles as Gotham City police boss Commissioner Gordon and butler Alfred Pennyworth, respectively.
