According to Screen Rant, the fan-casting conversation around the DCU's upcoming Batman has shifted significantly heading into 2026, with changing career trajectories reshaping who fans see as the frontrunner — and Anyone But You breakout Brendan Sklenar has emerged at the top of that list.
Why This Batman Casting Debate Is Unlike Any Before It
This isn't just another superhero recasting conversation. The DCU's Batman will need to coexist with James Gunn's carefully constructed new universe — one that already has David Corenswet locked in as Superman. That means Bruce Wayne needs to feel like a genuine peer: someone with the gravitas to go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel, the charisma to anchor his own franchise, and the physicality to sell the cape and cowl. Sklenar's rapid rise after his rom-com success raises a genuinely interesting question: does the DCU want a Batman who arrives as a household name, or one who gets to grow into the role alongside the universe itself?
The other wrinkle here is tone. After the grimdark years of the Snyderverse and the prestige-horror vibes of Matt Reeves' The Batman, Gunn's DCU appears to be threading a different needle — earnest, character-driven, with a sense of humor that doesn't undercut the stakes. That context matters enormously for who fits Bruce Wayne right now.
What myCast Fans Are Actually Voting For
Here's where things get really interesting — because the myCast community isn't quite on the Sklenar bandwagon yet, and the data tells a compelling story about where fan instincts actually land.
The most active Batman fan cast on the platform right now is the Batman story, which has collected 47 total votes across 19 roles. The top pick for Bruce Wayne there? Karl Urban, pulling in 10 votes. That's a genuinely fascinating choice — Urban brings a weathered intensity from The Boys and a proven blockbuster track record, and he'd skew older than Sklenar in a way that could make for a more seasoned, world-weary Dark Knight. Over in that same story, Willem Dafoe is tied with Urban at 10 votes for the Joker role, which is arguably the most inspired piece of casting in any of the fan stories — Dafoe as the Clown Prince of Crime would be genuinely unhinged in the best possible way. has earned 7 votes as Commissioner Gordon, and has picked up 7 as Alfred — a left-field choice that's somehow hard to argue with.