Many moons ago, as covered in our running Series of DCEU Columns, Mad Max‘s George Miller was set to direct a little movie called Justice League Mortal. The film, which would’ve come out smack dab in the middle of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, was actually going to introduce mainstream audiences to a completely separate version of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Sets were being constructed, costumes designed, and casting finalized. But then the Writer’s Strike happened, Warner Bros. got cold feet, and the project fell apart.

For More On JUSTICE LEAGUE MORTAL And A Fascinating Point In The WB’s DC History Read:

“MFR Explores The DCEU’s Road To Ruin: Column #3“

Had Justice League Mortal happened, the alternate version of Batman we would’ve met was going to be played by Armie Hammer (The Social Network, The Lone Ranger). A new wave of rumors are now suggesting that Hammer will get a second chance to dance with Batman on the big screen, just not as Batman.

Thanks to a series of social media interactions, the internet is now aflutter with rumors that Hammer will appear in Ben Affleck’s The Batman. 

How did we get here?

Well, it goes a little something like this: Last week, both DC President Geoff Johns, who’s co-writing The Batman with Affleck, and Joe Manganiello, who’s playing the villain Deathstroke, started following Hammer on Twitter. Then last night, Hammer posted the following picture on Instagram:

That’s Hammer at Manganiello’s house, apparently doing some “work” with the Deathstroke actor, despite the fact that the two aren’t currently working together on any announced projects.

Then Manganiello tweeted that same image, with the caption “Burning the midnight oil with my man @armiehammer #espresso.”

And THEN…..Geoff Johns retweeted Manganiello’s tweet or Hammer’s picture.

That, my friends, is how rumors get started.

So now everyone’s wondering if Hammer is going to pop up in The Batman, and speculating about who he’d play. While some are quick to “dream cast” him as Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern, there’s very little reason to think that GL will appear in The Batman. From what little we know about Affleck’s solo Batman movie, it’s been said that there will be multiple villains for The Dark Knight to tussle with, so I’d like to float the idea out there that maybe Hammer will play one of Batty’s classic rogues (Harvey Dent, anyone?).

Or what if he the 30 year old actor is playing the role everyone had Scott Eastwood pegged for in Suicide Squad? Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing.

We shall see.

For now, until something is announced, this is all merely a rumor that Johns, Manganiello, and Hammer seem to be having fun fueling.

SOURCE: Instagram