Not many young actors can say: “I played Batman.” Except, that is, for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
When last summer’s smash “The Dark Knight Rises” hit its final act [SPOILER ALERT!], Gordon-Levitt’s character was revealed to be Robin, the boy wonder himself. And with Christian Bale’s Batman hanging up his cowl, the implication seemed to be that he might carry on the Batman tradition himself.
Now, months after Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale retired the cape, Levitt seems like a perfect fit. Now, with Warner Brothers once again considering an “Avengers”-like super-team-up flick that would bring together superfriends like Batman and Superman, several media insiders have already thrown their hats into the rumor ring, claiming that the “Brick” breakout is the man for the job.
Drew McWeeny at Hitfix reports that Levitt “absolutely will be appearing in ‘Justice League’ as the new Batman.”
“They’re a long way from filming anything “Justice League” related,” McWeeny explains, positing the notion that we may see another Batman flick before “Justice League,” just to set up JGL as the new Dark Knight. “[Execs at WB] appear to be solidifying deals for Gordon-Levitt and, potentially, at least one other actor from the Nolan films to do… something.”
And the speculation doesn’t stop there. Lily Rothman of Time states “We already know courtesy of The New York Post that Zack Snyder’s June 2013 ‘Man of Steel’ may be the first movie to introduce the ‘Justice League’ universe to filmgoers. The most recent HitFix news also suggests that, given the precedent for superheroes popping up in other heroes’ movies, the super-early casting of JGL, before ‘Justice League’ even has a director, may be due to the possibility of a Batman appearance in the Superman movie.”
It would only be the latest chapter in a staggering rise to leading-man-status for an unlikely superstar. Beginning his acting career at age 6, he rose to fame on “3rd Rock From The Sun,” a beloved but somewhat goofy sitcom that didn’t exactly establish him as a dramatic powerhouse. After blowing people away with the Dashiell-Hammett-in-High-School indie “Brick,” Hollywood suddenly began realizing that he had grown up into something formidable – and soon enough he was earning a Golden Globe nomination for “500 Days of Summer,” arguably his generation’s greatest romantic movie not called “The Notebook.” JGL’s latest movie, a re-team with “Brick” director Rian Johnson called “Looper” that co-starred Bruce Willis, was a box-office success and earned a 94 percent fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Now, while Levitt is riding a wave of success, the swell seems to only be growing. The actor seems to be largely avoiding claims that he’ll be the next Batman, and even his most die-hard fans (and there are many) may have a difficult time picturing the boyish Levitt as the caped crusader.
On the other hand, the excitement is palpable, and every day seems to yield more urging to confirm JGL’s coronation as one of pop culture’s most iconic characters once and for all. Well, all of us here at Nicerazzi are fully behind his casting, and think it would set the superfriends off on the right foot after they stumbled trying to get a film going a few years back. “Justice League,” hopefully starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is scheduled for release sometime in 2015.