Keanu Reeves has already played John Constantine, but there is a major DC hero who would be his dream role, and he looks perfect as him for DC.
Custom image by Felipe Rangel
Keanu Reeves rejoins the DC Universe as his dream superhero, thanks to stunning DC art. Reeves has been fancast in plenty of Marvel and DC roles over the years. The actor has even played a popular character for DC, John Constantine, starring in 2005’s Constantine, which will soon be getting a sequel as part of DC’s Elseworlds movies, with Reeves back in the lead role for Constantine 2. However, the actor has a dream live-action DC role still to play.
On Instagram, digital artist @zerologhy showed how amazing Keanu Reeves as Batman would be.
The fan-favorite actor already played the Dark Knight before, though it came in a voice role in DC League of Super-Pets. Reeves previously commented on playing Batman in live-action, revealing that it would be a dream for him. However, the actor noted that Robert Pattinson was doing great work in The Batman universe, though Reeves let the door open for him to appear in upcoming DC movies as Batman, saying, “Maybe when they need an older Batman.”
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Michael Keaton’s Batman Was Destined For More
While Reeves is too old to be the Batman of a cinematic universe, the actor’s comments about DC possibly wanting an older version of Bruce Wayne in the future connect to a lost DCEU project. Michael Keaton’s return as Batman was the most popular element of 2023’s The Flash. Despite being in his 70s, Keaton was originally going to stick around the DCEU longer. The actor filmed scenes for the scrapped Batgirl movie, and Keaton was reportedly set to star in a live-action Batman Beyond film.
When Keaton’s return as Batman was revealed, multiple reports claimed the actor’s version of Bruce Wayne would take the place of Ben Affleck’s, with the veteran hero becoming a mentor to a younger generation of heroes like Batgirl and more. That would fit with an adaptation of the fan-favorite animated Batman Beyond series, as that story could have seen Keaton’s older Bruce mentoring a young Terry McGinnis as he becomes the new Batman. Prior to the DCEU’s plans, a Batman Beyond movie eyed Clint Eastwood for Bruce Wayne.
In an episode of the Fatman on Batman podcast (via Collider), Batman Beyond co-creator Paul Dini revealed that a live-action Batman Beyond movie had been in development after 1997’s Batman & Robin, with the film said to have been a little of The Dark Knight and contemporary comics. While a Batman Beyond live-action film was never produced, there is a lot of potential for such a film. The Batman universe could remain grounded, the DCU’s version of Batman could be rooted in an expansive shared universe, and Batman Beyond could be a futuristic look at DC, keeping the franchises distinct.
With two other cinematic Bruce Waynes as Batman, Batman Beyond could explore a new side of the character, showing how much more there is to Bruce in a new stage of his life.
Why Batman Is Not Keanu Reeves’ Best DC Role
There Are Better DC Characters For The Actor
While Reeves was great as Batman in DC League of Super-Pets and has the perfect voice for the role, the character would not be his best DC live-action future. With Pattinson’s The Batman universe already taking the live-action Elseworlds spot for the character, Reeves would be too old to play the Batman of James Gunn’s DC Universe. More than that, popular candidates for the role like Jensen Ackles, Alan Ritchson, and Jake Gyllenhaal would be a better fit than Reeves for the DCU’s Bruce Wayne.
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However, that does not mean that Reeves has no future at DC. There are plenty of characters the actor could play in the DCU. Reeves is always on the end of comments about how the actor never ages, and what better piece of meta casting than to have him play the DCU’s Vandal Savage? After mostly playing heroic roles, seeing Reeves as an immortal and ruthless villain would be a great sight. Likewise, Reeves’ action talents from The Matrix and John Wick franchises would fit greatly with a character like Deathstroke in the reported Teen Titans movie.
Reeves could also play a hero in the DCU. After Pierce Brosnan gave life to Doctor Fate in the DCEU’s Black Adam, the studio needs to find an actor who could bring the same gravitas the James Bond star did to the role. Reeves could be that person, with the actor being able to easily bring Kent Nelson’s compassionate persona to the big screen. With Constantine 2 in the works, Reeves at least has a DC role secured, and if he never gets to play Batman in live-action, Keanu Reeves could always return to voicing Bruce Wayne in the future.
