As one of the co-leaders of the new era of D.C. Comics media adaptations, James Gunn has a lot of decisions to make. There are stories to write, roles to cast and, while some fans have ideas for each, one recent pitch has many tossing it straight into the trash.
The above Reddit post, which has since been removed by the moderators of the DC Cinematic subsection of the social media site, ignited a firestorm of discourse. Though Thwaites has experience as Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing on Titans, fans are not taking this into account. They think too many recent fan suggestions lean on the vibes of 2000’s musical groups.
Others add he would not work as he still has a youthful face, despite actually being in his 30s. Different criticism of Thwaites points to the Titans show’s perceived mediocrity as evidence for why he should not get an upgrade to Bruce Wayne on the big screen. One commenter noted that, given how old Damian Wayne will likely be in the future The Brave and the Bold movie, a more mature Bruce is needed as opposed to a star still coming out of their youth era.
Of course, nothing is official, and — as difficulties with D.C.’s original 2014 slate have shown — things can change very quickly. Gunn and his team aren’t shying away from leaning on actors from shows like Titans if the shoe fits, which leaves fans and casual audiences to wait, hope, and maybe have a little bit of faith for the coming years.