Josh Brolin or Ryan Gosling May Be the New Batman

It hasn't even been a month from the huge Comic-Con announcement that Batman will be in the next Superman movie and the rumors and speculation about casting are already hitting a fever pitch. And, as it turns out, the one and only Ryan Gosling's name is in the mix.

It hasn't even been a month from the huge Comic-Con announcement that Batman will be in the next Superman movie and the rumors and speculation about casting are already hitting a fever pitch. And, yes, the one and only Ryan Gosling's name is in the mix.

The thirst for the Batman casting scoop is rising at an alarming rate, thanks largely to how little we know about the new project. The script is still being written and Christian Bale has already said he won't play the Caped Crusader again. But we now know just a little bit more thanks to The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit.

Despite my Atlantic Wire colleague Esther Zuckerman's doubts, Gosling's name is being mentioned as a potential Bruce Wayne. But Warner's frontrunner so far, according to Kit, is Gosling's Gangster Squad co-star Josh Brolin. Brolin fits the Batman the film studio wants: one that's a bit older, "established and rugged," Kit says, who has been donning the cape and cowl for a while. Batman on Film, a small fan site, first reported that Warner was looking for an older Bruce Wayne to star in Superman vs. Batman.

Other names that are allegedly being thrown around: British actor Richard Armitage, True Blood star Joe Manganiello, Pacific Rim's Max Martini, and Watchmen star Matthew Goode. But everyone is cautioning that things are still very much in the early planning stages and that things could change in an instant. Besides, Brolin is such an obvious choice you might as well shut things down now.

Update, Sunday: Latino Review reports Gerard Butler is also being considered for Bruce Wayne.