Tom Welling Shares Which DCU Character He Wants to Play—It’s a Brilliant Idea

Tom Welling recently shared which character he would like to play in the rebooted DC Universe. When asked, Welling didn’t hesitate. “I mean, Batman,” he said, after some encouragement from his co-stars.

Many fans think Welling has the look for the role. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are often described as looking alike, so it could make sense for James Gunn to consider the Smallville star for the new DC Universe.

While it’s unlikely he will actually play Batman, seeing him in the franchise in some way would be exciting.

Meanwhile, a Smallville animated revival is reportedly in the works, although there’s no release date yet.

The DCU version of Batman is set to appear in an upcoming film that will focus on the “Bat-Family.” This includes introducing Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian Wayne, as Robin. James Gunn described the project as a “strange father and son story” about Batman and Robin.

After Gunn and Peter Safran took over the DCU, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav made it clear there won’t be multiple Batmans in the universe. Gunn’s slate for the DCU includes The Brave and the Bold, which introduces this version of Batman. The film takes inspiration from Grant Morrison’s 2006–2013 run on the comics.

Ben Affleck will not return as Batman in this new universe, and Matt Reeves’s Batman will continue separately under the DC Elseworlds label. Andy Muschietti, director of The Flash, was hired to direct the new Batman film in June 2023, with his sister Barbara producing alongside Gunn and Safran. Muschietti said development was postponed to avoid conflicting with Reeves’s The Batman: Part II and to allow him to focus on other projects. By February, a writer was working closely with Gunn on the script, though Muschietti was no longer actively involved at that point.

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