James Gunn Says DC Studios’ Batman Will Be A “New Actor” & Pours Water On George Clooney Rumor

In case you’re not very terminally online, you may have missed this story and rumor. And to be fair, we do try and ignore some of these wild rumors, but this one has been so crazy it’s prompted DC Studios co-chief James Gunn to respond.

Let’s back up a bit. Late this week, a new rumor surfaced. It said that “The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller—the new trailer of which is due sometime today— was undergoing one last reshoot. The idea was reportedly that an end-credit with Ben Affleck’s version of Batman was being scrapped. Instead, an old classic Batman would appear that was not Michael Keaton, who is already part of the film. Got that? That basically meant Christian Bale, Val Kilmer, or George Clooney. And through some sort of proof of elimination or game telephone, fans and some online pundits had surmised that George Clooney’s version of The Batman would appear in this new end-credit sequence.

READ MORE: James Gunn’s DC Slate Announces Five Films Including ‘Superman: Legacy,’ ‘Brave & The Bold’ Batman, ‘Swamp Thing’ & More

Now, none of this is remotely official or confirmed. However, James Gunn has responded to these rumors. Fans started speculating that Clooney, if he does appear indeed, would be the new Batman in the DC Studios’ future and the upcoming Batman Brave & The Bold” film that Gunn recently announced when he revealed the entire ten project DC Studios slate recently.

So Gunn answered two questions, both of which he replied to immediately. “Is it true you’re casting George Clooney as the new main DCU Batman?” was the question, and his response was, “absolutely not.”

The second question, “Does this mean we’re still getting an actor who has already batman or were getting a new actor all together?” was responded to with “New actor.”

So, there we have it in a nutshell. While this would seem to completely pour water on the idea of Clooney showing up somewhere in “The Flash,” note that Gunn didn’t debunk that part.

But it’s very clear. Clooney won’t be appearing as Batman in future DC Studios films, and whenever they start casting, this new Bruce Wayne and Batman will be played by an entirely new actor. “Brave And The Bold,” which will feature Robin for the first time in a Batman film since the aforementioned Clooney movies, isn’t expected until 2027 at the earliest, so we’re probably not getting details on casting for several years. Hang tight until then. If you’re a DC fan, you’re at least getting four DC films this year, including “The Flash” and “Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom.”