Could Jake Gyllenhaal Be Matt Reeves’ Choice To Play The Dark Knight In The Batman?

There are new rumours suggesting that Jake Gyllenhaal is the man that Matt Reeves’ has in mind to play the Caped Crusader in The Batman standalone movie.

It’s probably Hollywood’s worst kept secret that Ben Affleck is looking for a way out of playing Batman in the DCEU. He never looks very happy during interviews and he’s said himself that he’s looking for a “graceful and cool” way of saying goodbye to the role. I’ve said it on multiple occasions that I truly believe that Affleck’s turn as the Caped Crusader has been one of the very best. He’s just suffered from poor scripts and at times poor direction. Unfortunately for him, his name might not end up being up there with Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Kevin Conroy (my personal favourite). That said, I will always hold a special place in my heart for his portrayal of the brooding multi-millionaire superhero.

The film director/producer/critic, John Campea, recently started a rumour on his YouTube show in which he stated that he had a conversation with a producer involved in Matt Reeves’ The Batman project in which he stated that the director already had someone in mind to play Batman should Affleck call it quits. Campea isn’t exactly the world’s most reliable source, yet he’s now revealed that Jake Gyllenhaal is the man that Reeves has in mind. Check out what he said on this subject during his YouTube show in the video below.

This would be such an interesting choice. Not only is Gyllenhaal one of the best actors working in Hollywood today (just watch Nightcrawler and Nocturnal Animals for evidence of this fact), but he also auditioned for the part in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy yet the role eventually went to Christian Bale. In retrospect, that decision was the correct one, yet Gyllenhaal is a different actor today and would offer something very different to the role. He has a raw and slightly nervous energy about him that I believe would suit the character. He’s also proven that he knows how to do action in films such as Southpaw, Source Code and The Price of Persia.

Now, before revealing the name, Campea had this to say. “This is a little bit different. He [the Hollywood insider who supposedly revealed this information] says, “Yes, that is the name that was floated. There has been some conversations. But it’s not a sure thing that this is happening. It’s not a lock. It may not happen at all.” Blah, blah, blah…” Thanks, Campea. So as far as this rumour is concerned, it may be total rubbish. That said, I do like the idea of seeing Gyllenhaal in the iconic cape and cowl and I do think he’d be a good fit for the role.

Would you like to see Gyllenhaal play Batman? Let us know in the comments below.

For the meantime, you can see Ben Affleck’s version of Batman in Justice League which opens in UK cinemas today.