Wes Bentley must be doing some pretty good work on Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, which is currently in production. The actor is to play a prominent character in the latest from the director of The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception, and Nolan has been cited as saying he would recommend Bentley to play Batman in the 2015 sequel to Man of Steel.
Cosmic Book News has learned from a DC source that Bentley, Jake Gyllenhaal, Luke Evans, and Ben Affleck (the bomb in Phantoms, yo!) will be offered screen test opportunities by Warner Bros. It has been reported that Affleck may decline to audition, but the other actors will presumably done one of the Batsuits from The Dark Knight trilogy to try out for the role.
Gyllenhaal will soon be seen alongside Hugh Jackman in Prisoners, and was actually David Goyer’s pick for the character while searching for actors before shooting Batman Begins. Luke Evans has had roles in Fast and Furious 6 and Immortals (alongside Superman actor Henry Cavill), and has also landed the lead role in an upcoming new adaptation of Dracula.
This Renegade Reporter remembers Wes Bentley most from his role in American Beauty, and was actually rooting for him to land the Peter Parker/Spider-Man role that eventually went to Tobey Macguire. The actor also had a role in the blockbuster adaptation Hunger Games and creepily convinced as a crazed security guard in P2 among many other roles.
Endorsement from Christopher Nolan for the Batman role is surely high praise, and to be honest I can see Bentley fitting the role more than the other actors listed above. No word other than rumors already reported here at Renegade Cinema regarding Josh Brolin’s possible Bat-Candidacy. But word on the street is that screen tests are set to take place in September with a possible announcement coming as soon as the mid-September to mid-October time frame. In addition to this casting news, also remember that Mark Strong has been indicated as a strong (get it?) candidate for the role of Lex Luthor, who is certain to appear in Superman/Batman given the Man of Steel LexCorp hints. It’ll certainly be a better fate than playing Sinestro in Green Lantern.
Source: Cosmic Book News
