Tom Brittney got asked point blank about playing the DCU’s Batman, and he gave the exact kind of answer that keeps a rumor alive.
He did not say no.
Brittney appeared on Fox 5’s Good Day New York Wednesday morning to promote his new MGM+ series The Westies, but the host wasted no time going straight at the Batman rumor we reported at the end of June.
She told Brittney she had done her homework on him the night before and kept coming back to his voice.
“I think that you could play someone else in the world of very strong characters,” the host said. “Batman! You know what I’m talking about!”
“Who? Batman?” Brittney answered with a big smile and laugh. “I know nothing about this. This crazy rumor.”
Told he should Google himself, Brittney joked he would do exactly that as soon as the interview wrapped.
Pressed one last time on whether he wanted to say anything, the Grantchester star delivered the line now making the rounds: “No comment. No. I know nothing. Just lovely wonderful rumors.”
The host was not done either, closing the segment by telling Brittney they would be watching The Westies “and then we’ll wait for the other announcement.”
“I can tell that voice, Batman, can’t you?” she said.
Tom Brittney’s Batman Answer Was Not A Denial
Nobody expected Brittney to confirm anything on a morning show couch. If he has signed anything, he legally cannot say it.
But there is a big difference between saying, “you’ve got the wrong guy,” and grinning through “just lovely wonderful rumors” on live television.
The replies to the clip made the same read, with fans saying the answer sounded like Bruce Wayne denying he is Batman.
It also has the same energy David Corenswet gave off before Gunn made him Superman.
Brittney has been the fan-favorite pick for the DCU’s Dark Knight for a long time, and now the rumor is playing out in the same lane.
The DCU Batman Situation Is Still A Mess
The Brittney talk started making the rounds in Hollywood at the end of June, and the situation behind the scenes has not gotten any cleaner since.
As we exclusively reported this week, our insiders say Matt Reeves pushed back on Gunn using Batman ahead of The Batman Part II, which opens just three months after Man of Tomorrow.
The Brave and the Bold, the movie that is supposed to introduce the DCU’s Batman, still has no cast, no date, and no production start, even as Peter Safran keeps insisting it is happening.
Worth remembering: per Jeff Sneider, the original Brave and the Bold plan called for an older Batman to introduce Damian Wayne. A Brittney casting doesn’t necessarily mean that version of the movie is gone. Brittney is 35 years old, so he could still have a 15-year-old Damian Wayne.
Meanwhile, we’ve been told Man of Tomorrow could be Gunn’s last hurrah, loaded with cameos and fan service, with his DC contract believed to run out right as Paramount takes over.
So even if Brittney is the guy, the real question is where he would actually show up first: a Batman movie that has not moved in three years, or a cameo in Man of Tomorrow.
The Westies Just Became Part Of The Batman Audition
The reason Brittney was on the couch at all is The Westies, which premieres this Sunday, July 12, at 9 pm ET on MGM+ with a two-episode debut.
Brittney co-leads the 1980s Hell’s Kitchen Irish mob drama as Jimmy Roarke opposite J.K. Simmons (Zack Snyder’s choice for Jim Gordon), with Narcos and Godfather of Harlem co-creator Chris Brancato running the show.
A gritty crime lead opposite an Oscar winner is not a bad audition reel for a guy fans already want under the cowl.
And with San Diego Comic-Con kicking off July 22, there is an obvious window on the calendar if DC ever wants to turn “lovely wonderful rumors” into something official.
For now, the scoreboard has not changed. The DCU’s Batman has no movie shooting, no release date, and per our insiders, no clear path for Gunn to ever get him on screen.
What he does have, as of Wednesday morning, is a rumored actor smiling through a non-denial on live TV.
Announcements first, movies later. Sound familiar?
