Fans roast as Alan Ritchson says he’d play Batman in the DCU without pay: "And then they couldn't even pay me to go see it"

Reacher and Titans star Alan Ritchson has been the subject of speculation regarding wearing the cape and cowl as Batman in the DC Universe (DCU). Even though DC Studios head James Gunn publicly shot down the rumors, Ritchson's interest in playing the character remains high.

Now, Ritchson has gone on record to say that he adores Batman so much that he wouldn't even require compensation for playing the character.

Naturally, the internet went wild over this remark.

Fans were joking that if Alan Ritchson was eager to work for free, DC should come along and offer him a role. Memes erupted across social media, people imagining DC bosses rubbing their hands together at the possibility of securing a big star without forking out a cent.

One X user (@Nin_Gen_Omega) stated:

"And then they couldn't even pay me to go see it."

A user (@1ST5MINUTES) joked:

"We need someone who can act."

A user (@dannyisbackwooo) mentioned:

"Now let’s see his face when he gets a contract to play Batman and the pay is $0."

A user (@stevenvoiceover) hilariously mentioned:

"LOL I'd love to be the fly on the wall in his next meeting with his agent 🤣"

A user (@MrReddFox_) went on to say:

"You’d have to pay US to see you play him."

Meanwhile, a user (@000prism000) lamented:

"Ben Aflek already killed batman for me if this guy plays next i stop watching all dc for good."

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What did Alan Ritchson say about the Batman rumors?

Ritchson broke down the rumor-mongering recently in a WIRED Autocomplete Interview:

“What's amazing to me about this rumor of the Batman desire and the zeitgeist, is the fact that James Gunn has personally announced publicly on his Twitter or X or whatever, "LOL, he's not playing Batman. He is not playing Batman!" And this thing will not die."

The actor continued,

"I get asked every day if I'm playing Batman. Yeah, would I play Batman? Yes. Would I pay handsomely to be Batman? You wouldn't even have to pay me to be Batman. I would, yeah, I would don the suit. [Said in his Batman voice] "Gotham is mine." Look at that. I don't even have to practice. It just comes out naturally."

In spite of James Gunn's adamant refusal, fan enthusiasm hasn't declined.

Social media has been overrun with fan art of Alan Ritchson as Batman, frequently in the form of a shiny, armor-clad Batsuit and the classic white eyes from the comics—something that live-action versions don't typically do.

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Will Alan Ritchson be part of the DCU?

At a recent DCU press event attended by ScreenRant, Gunn and DC co-CEO Peter Safran confirmed that Robert Pattinson’s The Batman universe will remain separate from the main DCU franchise.

This means that if Alan Ritchson were to land a role in the DCU, it wouldn’t be connected to Pattinson’s version of the character.

Meanwhile, Alan Ritchson is familiar with the DC Universe. He had played Aquaman on Smallville and Hawk on Titans, both of which proved that he could do justice to robust, physical superheroes.

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A quick history of Batman on the big screen

Batman has been a favorite superhero for more than eight decades.

His origin, first told in Detective Comics #33 in 1939, tracks Bruce Wayne as he sees his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, murdered by a mugger named Joe Chill.

This is the moment that galvanizes his transformation into Gotham's masked avenger.

The Dark Knight has been interpreted by some of Hollywood's largest stars, with Christian Bale's in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) being one of the most lauded.

More recently, Robert Pattinson portrayed the character in 2022's The Batman, which presented a darker, detective-centric interpretation of the character.