Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin tipped for Batman in Man of Steel 2

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t the recent San Diego Comic Con we were treated to the pretty darn exciting news that Man of Steel 2 will feature both Superman (Henry Cavill) and Batman. Ever since then the question of who will take up the Dark Knight’s mantle has been on everyone’s lips, and we knew it wouldn’t take long for the rumours to start flying.

The Man of Steel sequel is still in the very early writing stages, so at the moment no actor has received even the most casual of offers, nor has anyone confirmed their interest in playing the role. This isn’t stopping people from chucking a few names around however, especially considering what we do know about Man of Steel 2 suggests that our Batman will be based on Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, and therefore a somewhat greying, middle aged (dare we say over the hill?) and established super hero. This definitely won’t be another ‘origins’ story.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, some of the big names surfacing at this stage are:

Ryan Gosling – Yes, at 32 he’s relatively young for the role, but he is unquestionably flavour of the last few years as far as the movie world is concerned. If you can get past his cute little face, you’ll also discover he’s a rather decent actor, more than capable of playing older and grizzled-er than he actually is.

Richard Armitage – currently tearing up Middle Earth as Thorin Oakenshield, King of Erebor in The Hobbit,  it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if the 41 year old Armitage started picking up a few more choice Hollywood roles now that he’s in the process of becoming a household name.

Josh Brolin – According to wild speculation, the 46 year old Brolin is currently the favourite for the role. This rumour may have come about due to Brolin’s starring role in Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill for, also a Frank Miller creation.

Joe Manganiello – Lovers of vampire series True Blood will already be familiar with Manganiello in his werewolf form. What they may not know is that he was at one time tipped for the role of Superman before Henry Cavill came along, but scheduling conflicts got in the way (those pesky vampires). It’s entirely possible that director Zack Snyder would keep him in mind for the role of Batman.

Also on the table are Max Martini, currently appearing in Pacific Rim, and Matthew Goode, a graduate of Watchmen, which was also directed by Snyder.

Of course, at this early stage no-one really knows which way the casting will go – but a choice has got to be made pretty soon, as Man of Steel 2 is set to shoot in 2014 for release in 2015. Our Batman could be one of the above, or we could still be surprised…