Despite the rumours, Reacher star Alan Ritchson has come forward to explain that he won’t be playing Batman in the DCU, but is in conversations for a role as “another character” in the universe instead.
Speaking during the Reacher panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, Ritchson addressed the rumours by fans that he would be taking on the mantle of the Caped Crusader, noting that the chances of it happening are slim, at least for now. Still, this doesn’t mean that the actor won’t have any involvement in the DCU, as he also revealed that he is currently in talks with the studio to portray another DC character.
“I feel like I have to address this, because it comes up all the time,” Ritchson explained. “I don’t ever want to lead somebody on to feel like maybe… I’ve had a lot of conversations with DC about what to do, because we’d like to work together. Never say never; maybe Batman is in the future, but I don’t think it is, because we’re having conversations about another character. I just don’t think Batman is in the cards for me, as much as I would love to do it.”
While this will definitely be a blow for those fans hoping that Ritchson would tackle a brand new iteration of the Dark Knight, his mention of playing another character was enough to draw excitement from the crowd. It seems that both DC and Ritchson have found the right character, although they understandably remained tight-lipped on exactly who it will be.
Still, with Ritchson’s massive build, it’s interesting to speculate which hero would suit him best, perhaps someone like Hawkman or the next iteration of Shazam. He might even step into the shoes of a supervillain like Bane or Solomon Grundy, but for now, it seems like the conversations surrounding his mysterious DC role are still in their early stages, so we most probably won’t see him in a DC project for a while.
For now, at least, Ritchson is certainly being kept busy, as he is set to return to Prime Video with Reacher Season 4 in August, alongside the action-thriller Runner in September, and an untitled Navy SEAL film where he will play Medal of Honor recipient Mike Thornton.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
