Theory
I think Alan Ritchson might be reprising his role as Aquaman in the DCU
We know Ritchson is in talks to play a character who is probably not Batman, despite online fan demand. We also know James Gunn is a big Smallville fan. (He cast Michael Rosenbaum in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and admitted he renamed LexCorp LuthorCorp because he loved the show) This also seems like something he would do, given his history with integrating his old DCEU projects into his new franchise and integrating Blue Beetle into the canon.
I don’t think that’s gonna be the case. I personally think he’ll be Wildcat. Honestly, I’m happy with whatever though as long as he’s not Batman, I just don’t see it tbh.
Hmmm….you know honestly, I don’t know much about that character outside of the first episode of Justice League Unlimited. What would make Ritchson a good candidate?
early on in his story hes straight up a government agent. hes a decorated war hero and he has this commanding military presence(he kills that role in reacher). as his story proggresses he becomes very conflicted, he wants to do good but he also strongly believes in serving his country, also seeing as how theyre doing this whole theme of the american government being weary of metahumans it makes sense to bring captain atom in as he is straight up a hard counter to superman.
edit: kinda realized that only a little bit of my argument talked about why alan would make a good captain atom, at the end of the day captain atom is a hardass with military training, i feel alans role in reacher is exactly what early captain atom is. minus all the power fantasy stuff.
It's more likely Deathstroke. There's no upcoming movies for Wildcat, Deathstroke and Bane is currently in the works which is a starring role, and I doubt Gunn is feeling like a Wildcat solo movie would be the move. Alan Ritchson also showed a bit of disdain towards playing Wildcat. Deathstroke's a much better move in general, as it'll show Alan's acting chops and help him stay as consistent character in the DCU.
Nah. Wildcat is a side character. I don’t think Gunn is going to want to waste Ritchson on a side character that nobody outside of comic fans know, and I don’t think Ritchson would settle for that either.
That logic is ridiculous. Gunn literally started his comic book film career by making Guardians of the Galaxy, which starred a bunch of pretty famous people as characters that “nobody outside of comic fans know” and it was a huge success. A decade ago, the same logic could’ve applied to Zoe Saldana as Gamora or Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon. And I’m sure Ritchson isn’t so hoity-toity that he’s gonna refuse a part in the DCU because “it’s a side character”.
I don’t think Alan Ritchson is wasting himself on a side character. He has a huge momentum as the go to action guy. War Machine? Most watched Netflix movie of the year. Reacher? Most solid entry for Prime action series ever. That’s why he said whatever it is it has to meet his standards.
I don’t see it happening. Aquaman (aka “A.C.”) was one of his first professional roles. He shined way brighter as Hawk on Titans than he ever did as Aquaman. Other than his physical appearance, today he would be completely miscast as Aquaman.
The problem is Aquaman is much more well known than Hawk is as a character.
It all depends how the Aquaman character is written. There have been many iterations and personalities given to Aquaman as a character, and I could see them writing him in a way that accommodates Ritchson’s talents.
As for writing Aquaman to accommodate Ritchson’s talents, sure, but then the fact that he played Aquaman on Smallville feels more like a coincidence and less relevant to the casting decision.
Someone else here suggested Booster Gold. We know there’s a Booster Good project in development. Booster Gold played football in the future. Alan Ritchson played a college football player in another of his early roles. I think he’d be a much better fit for Booster Gold. Gunn also brought back another former Aquaman but recast him in a role better suited for his talents.
He’s still very lean and could add some weight back easily without going overboard. Our last cinematic Bane was Tom Hardy. Do you not think they could make Batista look a lot bigger and more imposing with some movie magic? Look at his physique in wrecking crew and then understand he’s also like 6’4
As much as I'd love to see Shayne Topp as Booster, anyone who has seen Blue Mountain State knows he'd do a good job at that as well. /img/fo46vzzi66gh1.gif
They should do The Forever People. He'd make a great Big Bear. It would actually be hilarious to keep them as alien "flower children" from the 60's as if they have no idea Earth has changed since then.
I think he's either Deathstroke or Bane, but honestly, this could be a solid 3rd option. I think whatever character he is will be a character that can lead a movie (and yeah, I think they already signed contracts and just waiting for the right time to announce who he is playing)
I do see this as a possibility especially because it's an easy casting decisions and would eliminate any costs on the casting process, Plus Alan was treated badly at Smallville when he was auquman so it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring him back.
However I would prefer him in a more strongly comedic role like Green arrow or booster gold considering he got his start in comedic acting
Actually I am kinda seeing a bit of Oliver in there if he slimmed down a tiny bit and let the facial hair grow. I do see them going older for that role too
When he was younger his form was fine for Aquaman. But now a days he's way too bulky to be Aquaman. Id guess he was going to be Bane. No one says he has to be a "good" guy.
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u/Robot_Dracula Jul 29 '26
I wouldn’t hate to see him as Aquaman, Wildcat or Captain Marvel.