Dark Knight Trilogy Actor Could Become New DCU’s Batman After Latest Comments
It’s fun to wonder whether any Batman actors would reprise their roles in future projects. As unlikely as it may seem that Christian Bale, who portrayed the character in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, would ever don the cape and cowl again, never say never.
Other actors have already returned to Gotham, from Michael Keaton, who first appeared in Tim Burton’s two films and later reprised his role in The Flash (2023), to George Clooney, who also reprised his role in that film 26 years after Batman & Robin (1997).
Now, a legacy Batman actor has expressed an interest in returning. Will Arnett, who voiced the character in The Lego Movie (2014), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019), recently told Variety that his ongoing affection for the Caped Crusader — and for the creative team behind the Lego films — hasn’t faded.
“I’d love to do more Lego Batman,” he said, before praising The Lego Movie directors Chris Lord and Phil Miller and The Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay. He said:
“I love Lord and Miller. Those guys are the best. That was a really fun time in my life, making those movies — The Lego Movie and Lego Batman — with those guys and Chris McKay.”
Arnett also reflected on how the version of Batman took shape in the recording booth, describing the loose, collaborative process that defined the performance.
“I had some of my bigger laughs with those dudes as we were trying to discover the character [Batman]. I’ve talked about it before over the years, but we had a laugh one time in the booth when we were reading this line and coming up with these bits where Chris Miller ended up having to leave the room, and Phil was on his knees. We were freaking dying.”
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Despite the success of The Lego Batman Movie, which grossed $312M worldwide, no direct sequel ever materialized. Chris McKay was attached to return to the helm in late 2018, with a planned release in 2022, but those plans changed after The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part underperformed at the box office in 2019.
Universal subsequently acquired the Lego film rights, while Warner Bros. retained control of DC Comics, effectively halting development on a sequel.
With James Gunn and Peter Safran now overseeing the new DC Universe, which launched earlier this year with Superman (2025) and will continue with a planned Batman reboot titled The Brave and the Bold, Arnett’s comments inevitably raise questions about whether his version of the character could, at some point, extend beyond animation.
While there’s no indication that Arnett is being considered for a live-action role, the idea isn’t implausible. The Brave and the Bold is expected to introduce an older, established Bruce Wayne alongside his son Damian Wayne, which would align more naturally with an actor in Arnett’s age range than previous Batman reboots.
Not only that, but Arnett, who has already given us a comical take on the Dark Knight, could also be a great stylistic choice. James Gunn’s Superman (2025) is a light-hearted iteration of the Man of Steel, with a “poppy” Metropolis and a lead (David Corenswet) who oozes boy-scout vibes. It’s likely that the Batman reboot will follow suit, offering a more colorful, lighter version of Gotham with a Batman who’s less Dark Knight and more Knight in Shining Armor.
Arnett has never played Batman in live action, but his long association with the character and his clear enthusiasm for returning make him an unconventional but intriguing possibility as DC continues its hunt for the next Gotham City vigilante.
Would you like to see Will Arnett reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman? Let us know in the comments down below!
