Matt Reeves reportedly wants the star of The Batman to be 15-20 years younger than Ben Affleck. The biggest story for the last year and a half when it comes to the DC movie universe has been the future of Batman and Affleck. He stepped down as writer and director on the solo film last year, but welcomed Reeves onto the project as its new director. However, there’s been constant rumors about what The Batman will actually contain and, more importantly, who will star.

Affleck’s desire to stay in the role appears to have greatly diminished over time, but that hasn’t brought us any closer to an official announcement from Warner Bros. The latest reports said Reeves’ script focused on a young Batman, which would make Affleck’s involvement not possible. Now, it appears we know just how much younger Reeves’ story is taking the character.

Revenge of the Fans reports that Reeves is looking to cast someone who is 15-20 years younger than Ben Affleck to be the star of The Batman. The targeted age is then between 25-30 years old. If true, this takes Jake Gyllenhaal out of the running. RotF also reported that Reeves met with Jack Huston about the role, but he also doesn’t fit the new criteria to play Batman. However, he could still appear in the movie, possibly as Harvey Dent - who is also rumored to be part of the film.

This report does line up with the earlier updates on Reeves’ The Batman script, which makes it even more credible. The report notes that Reeves’ movie will take some cues from Batman: Year One as it tells the earliest adventures of Bruce Wayne fighting crime. Casting someone in their mid to late 20s instantly gives The Batman years of freedom to tell its own stories without worrying about the continuity of the larger universe.

There are no names out there as possible contenders to play a young Batman, but those short lists could come soon. Warner Bros. is building out The Batman’s crew to get the pre-production process rolling and a summer 2019 start date could be what the studio is ultimately aiming for. If that’s the case, then casting could potentially come by the end of the year. Hopefully WB can come out and confirm some of these details before then so that the back-and-forth rumors can come to an end. As of right now, it looks like Affleck won’t be the star of Reeves’ movie, and a younger actor will instead wear the cowl in The Batman.

MORE: A Younger Batman Doesn’t Have to Mean the End of Ben Affleck

Source: Revenge of the Fans

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