Zack Snyder’s DCEU Could Have Had The Dark Knight Rises’ Joseph Gordon-Levitt As Batman

Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe could have brought back The Dark Knight Rises’ Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Batman. Gordon-Levitt appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy finale as John Blake, a Gotham police officer who eventually takes over the Batman mantle after Bruce Wayne settles into a peaceful life of retirement. Even though there was potential there to explore stories of Blake establishing himself as the next Caped Crusader, Nolan had decided The Dark Knight Rises should mark the end of the narrative, and no further followups were planned.

Of course, given how lucrative the DC Comics property is, Warner Bros. quickly moved forward on other adaptations. One year after The Dark Knight Rises came out, Man of Steel was released, using a Superman origin story as a springboard for a shared universe that would incorporate other DC characters. Obviously, the movie was separate from Nolan’s Batman movies, and Ben Affleck was cast as the new Bruce Wayne. But things could have played out differently, as at one point the filmmakers considered bringing Gordon-Levitt back.

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Snyder was asked about Man of Steel’s development and if a crossover with Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy was considered. Snyder admitted it was on the table for a while:

“It was not 100% off the table. We did talk about it a little bit. I think that it’s difficult and it would have been interesting because that would have meant – doing the math – that the Batman… and maybe that’s why we didn’t do it. If we had done that the Batman in this movie… it would have been Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Which could have been cool.”

Nolan was a producer on Man of Steel and brought the idea to Snyder, so it isn’t surprising they at least toyed with integrating it into Nolan’s Batman trilogy. If this had transpired, it would have marked a drastic change-of-pace for those films, which were extremely self-contained and notable for their grounded, realistic tone. Opening up that world to feature more fantastical elements could have been jarring, though it’d be interesting to see how it could have been executed. Snyder doesn’t go into great detail about why they didn’t go this route, but his mention of “doing the math” could mean a concern would be Gordon-Levitt’s Batman was too young for the story Snyder wanted to tell. Part of what made Affleck’s take on the character so memorable was he presented a world-weary Batman tired from years on the job.

Snyder went on to say he’s ultimately happy Nolan’s Batman trilogy remained in its own sandbox, and that’s arguably for the best. The series is one of the most groundbreaking and influential film properties of the 21st century, and it would have been risky to try to weave it into a much larger canvas like the DCEU. Additionally, going with a reboot allowed Snyder maximum creative freedom. He wasn’t boxed in by The Dark Knight Rises’ story and character interpretations, giving him the opportunity to put his own spin on figures in Batman lore. Part of the appeal of working with comic book adaptations is that characters aren’t beholden to one version or canon.