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" Holy casting couches! It looks like the faithful citizens of Gotham will no longer be saved by Christian Bale. While the prospects of him suiting up as the Caped Crusader again were already slim, the man himself recently confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he won&amp;#039;t assume the role in the upcoming DC Comics superhero mash-up movie Justice League, and we&amp;#039;ve just gotten a look at his next role. So as we project the bat signal into the night sky in search of the next Batman, we wondered, what would one need to possess in order to be a good fit? Maybe the men who have donned the mask throughout the years can give us some insight. 1. He should be cool like Adam West. (Possibility: Michael Fassbender.)  The next hero of Gotham is going to have to be both a calm, cool, and collected guy as well as being very secure in himself, a la the original Batman, Adam West. Playing the hero in both the original TV series as well as Batman: The Movie, West was always cool under pressure. Even when Robin was flipping out, using all types of nervous alliteration to describe the situation, he never really lost his nerve. Michael Fassbender could exude that type of self-aware togetherness with his eyes closed. His role as Erik Lensherr (who goes on to become Magneto) in X-Men: First Class showed that he can play it cool, deliver a character that is tortured but complex, and that he&amp;#039;s not averse to wearing a mask when he needs to. 2. He should charm like Michael Keaton. (Possibility: James Franco.)  He&amp;#039;s also gonna have to have a subtle sense of humor and be a charmer like Michael Keaton. In the late &amp;#039;80s and early &amp;#039;90s, it was Keaton who battled the forces of evil and kept the franchise profitable, all with a sly smirk on his face in the process. Though he pulled off the dark and serious aspects of the role well, he didn&amp;#039;t take himself too seriously. Enter James Franco. Able to portray the more abstruse roles like his character in 127 Hours but still able to laugh at himself a la This Is the End, his made-for-Hollywood face and A-list standing could see him taking on villain scum wearing a Morgan Freeman-designed getup in a believable way. 3. He should be built like Val Kilmer. (Possibility: Vin Diesel.)  He&amp;#039;s can&amp;#039;t be a stranger to the gym, either. Just ask Val Kilmer. While many had mixed reviews of Kilmer&amp;#039;s performance in 1995&amp;#039;s Batman Forever, he did bag Nicole Kidman and was one of the more brolic of the Batmen as well. Did someone say Vin Diesel? Ripped and ready for the role. The citizens of a progressive Gotham think it&amp;#039;s time for an ambiguously-raced Caped Crusader who represents the melting pot that is their fair city, all the while kicking some serious ass.  4. He should NOT be George Clooney. Or Ryan Gosling.  Then there&amp;#039;s George Clooney. The real-life equivalent of Entourage&amp;#039;s Vinny Chase, a handsome, bona fide movie star. The next Batman should take from him, well, keep your hair looking nice, eh? Ryan Gosling, here&amp;#039;s looking at you kid. Or maybe he should just be Jason Statham.  A tough act to follow, Christian Bale took the character to the next level. Having gained nearly 100 pounds, mostly of muscle, to assume his role in Batman Begins, the method actor made the hero cool again. His work, alongside the inspired Heath Ledger in his seminal role as The Joker in The Dark Knight, made Bale the best to wear the costume and weird mouthpiece. His successor will have to possess a rugged yet defined demeanor, a genuine take-no-shit attitude, but still have a soft side. A level-headed badass like Jason Statham could not only fill, but own those shoes. Already a bona fide action hero with roles in the Transporter and Expendables franchises, Statham could easily bring his ripped physique and patience-in-the-face-of-fear act to being Bruce Wayne. He could even use the weird mouthpiece to cover up his accent. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a23447/the-next-batman/>