Alan Ritchson Reveals the DC Role He Actually Auditioned For Before Landing Hawk on ‘Titans’
Comic Con weekend has a way of turning casual convention chatter into headline news, and this year’s Prime Video showcase for ‘Reacher’ delivered exactly that kind of moment. On Saturday, July 25, Reacher took over Ballroom 20 alongside its newly minted spinoff series, Neagley, marking the first time the franchise has held a dedicated panel at San Diego Comic Con. Alan Ritchson and his co star Maria Sten sat down for a joint conversation that ranged far beyond just promoting the new season.
Long before Ritchson became a household name playing the title role in ‘Reacher,’ he was carving out a very different path through the DC universe. He made his first superhero appearance as Aquaman on ‘Smallville’ between 2005 and 2010, and years later he returned to comic book television in a much bigger way. That return set the stage for one of the more surprising behind the scenes stories of his career.
Speaking during Variety’s Comic Con coverage, Ritchson revealed that he originally auditioned to play Robin on ‘Titans.’ He recalled walking out of that audition so confident he had booked the part that he went and bought himself a Tesla that same day, only to later get a call informing him the show wanted him instead as Hank Hall.
That reveal lines up with what Ritchson has said in past interviews about his ‘Titans’ journey. He has previously described feeling so sure he landed the show’s lead role that he treated himself to a new car before ever hearing back from the studio. The role he was chasing ultimately went to Brenton Thwaites, who played Dick Grayson across the full run of the series.
Instead of Robin, Ritchson found his footing as Hank Hall, better known to comic fans as Hawk. He held that role from 2019 to 2021, a stretch that helped sharpen his craft and set up the momentum that would eventually carry him into ‘Reacher.’ His final appearance as Hawk came in the show’s third season, in the episode ‘Souls,’ before he exited the DC series for good.
The Comic Con footage attached to Variety’s post also gave fans a preview clip featuring Maria Sten, whose character Frances Neagley is stepping into her own spotlight. Neagley has spent three seasons of ‘Reacher’ as one of Jack Reacher’s most trusted former Army colleagues, and now she’s finally getting a series built entirely around her. All eight episodes of ‘Neagley’ are set to premiere on September 16, 2026, giving longtime viewers a direct route from ‘Reacher’ straight into the spinoff.
For a franchise that started with one reluctant drifter solving crimes across America, the expansion into a full universe feels like a natural next step, and Ritchson’s Comic Con candor only added to the day’s buzz. Between a Tesla bought on false confidence and a spinoff finally giving Neagley her due, it was a Comic Con panel packed with reveals worth talking about.
Would you have wanted to see Alan Ritchson play Robin instead of Hank Hall on ‘Titans’, or are you just here for whatever chaos he brings to the ‘Reacher’ universe next?
