Armie Hammer Is Possibly In Talks To Take Over Batman From Ben Affleck [UPDATE]

UPDATE!: The rumor that Armie Hammer was in talks to take over Batman from Ben Affleck is apparently untrue, as per Wrap reporter Umberto Gonzalez.

That’s only Gonzalez reporting, though, so we’ll keep the original report intact until more information comes in.

Original report: A few weeks ago, Ben Affleck made it official that he was no longer Batman, the role he only got to play thrice, and none of them in a solo venture. Well, his loss is Armie Hammer’s reward: The Call Me By Your Name actor is in talks to step up as DCEU’s new, probably less pissed-off Bruce Wayne in The Batman, the long-in-the-works Bruce Wayne solo picture that was originally to be directed by Affleck himself, and will now be helmed by Matt Reeves, of the last two Planet of the Apes entries.

This comes from Revenge of the Fans, which was picked up by Screen Rant, but if everything works out, Hammer will don a costume previously worn by not only Affleck but Christian Bale, George Clooney, Val Kilmer, Michael Keaton, Adam West, and — in voice role only — Will Arnett.

But there’s more than that: This casting — again, should it come to fruition — would make up for that time in the early 2000s when he almost played Bats. In his mid-20s, Hammer was courted by the DC for a Justice League movie that never came to be. That production not only would have featured the actor as the Caped Crusader; it would have also been helmed by no less than Mad Max auteur George Miller.

It was not to be, but good things come to those who wait, especially if they make up for aborted franchises like The Lone Ranger — in which, it should be noted, Hammer was quite good — by killing it in arty fare like Call Me By Your Name. Here’s hoping Bruce at least gets to eat a peach.

(Via Revenge of the Fans and Screen Rant)