15 Actors For Batman Vs Superman

Jake Gyllenhaal - Batman

Why: Originally shortlisted for Batman Begins (he made it to the final five - alongside a certain Mr Cavill), we imagine Nolan's still got his number.

And if he and Henry hit it off in those early auditions, we imagine he's a shoe-in.

Why Not: Prince Of Persia wasn't exactly a classic, so there's a chance Jake might not want to do another tent-pole flick.

But we reckon this could be the project to change his mind.

Ryan Gosling - Batman

Why: He's proven he can balance charm and menace in Drive , and isn't his character in Crazy Stupid Love essentially an extreme version of Bruce Wayne's douchebag persona?

Why Not: He's steered away from franchise flicks so far in his career, coming closest with the oh-god-make-it-stop Gangster Squad . We reckon he'll stick to indie movies for a long while yet.

Josh Brolin - Batman

Why: He's got the chin, the voice and the presence. He's so perfect we think he actually might be Batman.

Why Not: At 45 he might be a bit too old for the Bat-universe - after all, Bale was 37 when he played a worn-out Bats in Rises .

Also, he's doing tough and grizzled in another upcoming comic-book movie, A Dame To Kill For .

Karl Urban - Batman

Why: Let's face it, stick a Bat-cowl onto Karl's head in Dredd and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

He's got the charm and charisma for Wayne, too.

Basically, put a contract in front of this man right now.

Why Not: We literally can't think of a single reason.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Batman

Why: Snyder's Watchmen improves every time we watch it, and Dean Morgan is a big part of that.

He's got a great relationship with Zack, he'd look good in the costume, and we can hear his Bat-voice already.

Why Not: DC may not want to cross-universes - especially if they ever plan to expand that universe with a Before Watchmen franchise (which we'd actually be up for, believe it or not).

Richard Madden - Batman

Why: Snyder's looked to the telly before, casting Cavill straight from The Tudors . As he's a fan of that show, we can't see why he wouldn't watch Game Of Thrones.

And if he does, he'd know that - spoiler alert - Madden has a free schedule.

Why Not: We'd need to hear his accent first, we're not sure we're ready for a Northern Bats. "Back urf Serpermaaaan."

Armie Hammer

Why: He's been cast as the character in the past - in George Miller's aborted Justice League - so he's clearly got the right chin. But does he have the right attitude?

Why Not: It sounds as though Armie's a Marvel man. When asked if he'd want to be a part of the new Justice League , he said: "I don't know… It doesn't seem like it would be executed as well as Marvel's done theirs."

Fair enough Mr Hammer. We look forward to seeing you in Lone Ranger 2 . Or Ant Man . It'll probably be Ant Man .

Richard Armitage - Batman

Why: A fan favourite choice, we can see why. He's got the looks, the gruffness and he was in another huge fan-folk franchise as a bad-ass warrior, so he's fighting fit.

Why Not: This is actually a really good shout. Our only worry is that Warner Bros. may not want to cross their fantasy streams, keeping Armitage in his Thorin gear in case of future Hall H schedule clashes.

Christian Bale - Batman

Why: Do we really need to go into it?

Why Not: He's gone on record to state that Batman's behind him - but we remember when he said he'd chain himself to a fence and refuse to go to work if Robin appeared in Nolan's universe, and we all know how that went down.

Rises had him hanging up his cape, but Wayne's come out of retirement before, why not Bale?

Jon Hamm - Batman

Why: Every time there's a Batman reboot on the cards, Hamm's name comes up. We can see why; Don Draper = Batman - the costume + a drink problem.

Why Not: We can see him in a Kingdom Come adaptation, or even a Dark Knight Returns direct adaptation, but in Batman Vs Superman he'd probably look like Cavill's dad.

Mads Mikkelsen - Lex Luthor

Why: Another small screen villain who's currently sending people behind their sofas, Mads' Hannibal is actually a fairly good template for Lex. His heart is so soaked in evil he'd probably enjoy eating it without gravy - and yet he's able to operate in society, even working with the police to catch people like him.

With Lex surely teaming up with the government in Batman Vs Superman to take down Kal-El, this portrayal would definitely work.

Why Not: Lex is a symbol for American corporate greed, so Mads would need to work on his accent - a European Luthor might not work as well. We're sure he could pull it off though.

Bryan Cranston - Lex Luthor

Why: When it comes to small screen villainy, they don't get much better than Bryan. And he looks good bald. And with Breaking Bad wrapping up, he'll have time for a franchise.

Why Not: Like Karl Urban before him, not a single thing.

Gerard Butler - Lex Luthor

Why: With Bruce and Clark laying into each other, any bad-guy in the mix has to be able to hold their own in a scrap. Enter stage-left Gerard Butler, bellowing THIS IS METROPOLIS, and kicking Batman out of a window.

Why Not: We're not sure we can imagine a hairless Butler. It's… disturbing.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Why: We were actually torn with Cumberbatch; we were almost tempted to put him into the Batman box (after all, isn't Sherlock just a cape-less Batman with slightly better social skills?) but we can't resist casting him as the villain after his stunning Star Trek turn.

With his Hobbit turns in the can, Warners have him on the books..

Why Not: He might not want to cut off that lovely hair. And rightly so.

Leonardo DiCaprio - Lex Luthor

Why: If he could convey half the menace of Calvin Candie, then combine it with his sleazeball businessman persona in Wolf Of Wall Street, we'll be onto a winner.

Why Not: DiCaps seems to only pick roles that'll allow him to win that ever-elusive Oscar these days. We expect him to save the blockbusters until after he's got a golden baldie in his bathroom.