With the stunning success over the last decade that Christopher Nolan had with Batman, many fans of the DC Universe are hoping that a Justice League movie will be produced in order to compete with Marvel and the explosion that was The Avengers. But while hope that a film is going to be made is still that — hope — before we move forward with anything a major quesiton has been poised: who will play Batman?

Henry Cavill is well in place to play Superman and if Man of Steel was indeed Warner Bros first push back at The Avengers, it would make sense to have him in the role. But Nolan’s Batman films existed in their own right and seem to still be existing outside of the universe that has been created for Man of Steel which means we get to go back on the prowl for a new Batman. Armie Hammer

Why He’s A Good Fit: He’s young, he’s very good looking, he’s young and he’s a talented actor. Don’t let The Lone Ranger spoil the Hammer for you. Go back and watch him in David Fincher’s The Social Network and you’ll see he has the chops to hold his own in a big film. Now as for The Lone Ranger, that showed — if nothing else at all– that Hammer can be an action actor and do his best to make crappy lines belieable. Again, I’m not going to fault him for The Lone Ranger because it was hardly his fault.

Why He Won’t Play Batman: While I won’t blame him for The Lone Ranger, Warner Bros executives will. Superhero movies exist to make money and The Lone Ranger is going to go down as one of the worst box office flops of all-time. That’s not really the street creed you want on your resume if you’re trying to secure one of the most iconic roles in American pop culture history. He’s also not “known” enough as Christian Bale may have been an up and comer on the scene but he had just arrived with a healthy filmography when he won the Batman role. Hammer — not so much just yet. Garrett Hedlund

Why He’s A Good Fit: He has the physique to play a similar Batman to what Christian Bale did as Hedlund isn’t really a bulky guy but he can hold his own in an action film. He’s also displayed some serious chops in the roles he has picked and while he’s not really an A-List star like others being mentioned for the role of Batman, that might play to his advantage. Hedlund has a decent filmograpy behind him and he’s a name that is big enough to play Batman but not so huge that it offsets the ensemble cast which would likely be low key compared to The Avengers.

Why He Won’t Play Batman: I don’t really see a whole lot of reasons as to why Hedlund couldn’t play Batman. The only knock on him would be his name but that’s barely a knock given the range of films he’s been in. From being in Friday Night Lights to Tron and even Country Song, Hedlund has established himself as an actor capable of filling the shoes of a Christian Bale-type Batman but the only question is will Warner Bros want to carbon copy Nolan’s Batman into this new universe?Jake Gyllenhaal

Why He’s a Good Fit: All due respect to the man, bescause Gyllenhaal has displayed serious acting chops over the years, but he’s not cut out for Batman. However, while there are a million reasons why he’s wrong for the role, none of them have to do with how talented he is. Remeber the collective brow raise we did when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker in The Dark Knight and then compare that to how it ended up turning out. I’m not saying Gyllenhaal will win an Oscar as Batman but let’s not discount Christopher Nolan’s eye for making great casting choices and if he green lights Gyllenhaal as Batman, he has our trust.

Why He Won’t Play Batman: He’s really not a good fit at all but if he’s being considered for the role — which he likely isn’t — then it’s for his name. But this counteracts the cons against names like Channing Tatum and others who are considered too marquee to take on the role. He’s not really a guy you can see bing a superhero and like Armie Hammer will be bogged down because of The Lone Ranger, Gyllenhaal will have to live down the Prince of Persia movie which also bombed for Disney, especially with fans and critics. Channing Tatum

Why He’s a Good Fit: Tatum is a perfect blend of looks and talent. He’s wildly good looking but he’s lately displayed his acting talent in a way that would give DC fans hope that he’d play a good Batman. Of course, he could be too popular of a name for fans as Tatum still represents high school girl fantasies to some. But his work with Steven Soderbergh and his interesting casting decisions have given some faith that he’s serious about being taken serious.

Why He Won’t Play Batman: Simply put, he’s too mainstream to fit in this universe being created. Th hip thing to do is to take young up and comers in Hollywood and cast them in career changing roles. Tatum is a star and a stud but he’s too marquee to disguise himself int he Bruce Wayne role and just picturing him in that Batman suit is comical in a very bad way. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Why He’s a Good Fit: First and foremost he fits continuity, if that’s what Warner Bros and DC are going for. If cast, he’d play his John Blake character and skip right into the Batman suit. It would effectively link the Batman and Superman universes as Gordon-Levitt would be ported from The Dark Knight Rises and ensure audiences that this Superman story is taking place in the same universe that Nolan’s films did.

Why He Won’t Play Batman: While it fits Goyer/Nolan continuity, it clashes with previously established DC continuity as Gordon-Levitt seemed poised to take on the Nightwing role if anything. It could be done where the John Blake character takes on the role of Batman but the next issue with this casting choice would be that the universes of Batman and Superman currently don’t mesh. Nolan’s films exist in their own right while Man of Steel seems to be a perfect launching point for a DC Universe. This would mean a new Batman and not someone from a separate universe. Luke Evans

Why He’s a Good Fit: He has a nice rugged look about him that would fit the duality of Bruce Wayne and Batman perfectly. Evans has also displayed acting chops that would give Batman fans faith that he could take over for Bale, play a similar Batman yet a completely different Batman. Bale and Nolan created perhaps the best cinematic Batman we’ve seen yet and Evans seems like he can build on that and evolve the character. He’s not a huge name but he has a solid filmography that should satisfy executives.

Why He Won’t Play Batman: This is another one where I don’t see many pitfalls. The only argument seems to be age as at 34 years old, a rebooted Batman in a Superman world would likely be younger but Evans does have a certain charm about him. He also seems a little bit better suited for Green Arrow, but he’s shown that he has the action chops to be Batman. His other commitments may end up pulling him away from Baman but a film would begin production in the coming years which means The Hobbit is done filming and Evans is free — unless a role like a Christopher Nolan James Bond comes around.