Ah yes, the rumor mill. The new Superman movie hasn’t even been released yet, but already the rumors for the future Justice League movie are churning away. You’d think it would be about which Green Lantern would be involved (I’m still hoping for John Stewart) or if there will be a Wonder Woman movie before or after JL (or at all), but the new buzz is that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be taking on the Batsuit as the new Batman for the upcoming series.

Now in theory, I don’t hate this idea. JGL was one of the very best parts of the flawed Dark Knight Rises. His John Blake was certainly fantastic to watch and I had been saying for months that I wanted the series to end with Bruce dying and passing the torch to this new hero (so yeah, I got one half of my wish). And JGL certainly has the look to play a Dick Grayson-esque Batman … which if you follow me on Tumblr, you’ll know I’m a fan of.

There are a couple reasons I’m hesitant about him being involved in the new movies. He’d be John Blake, not Bruce Wayne. That’s not saying a non-Bruce Batman wouldn’t work … Batman is a symbol at it’s core and the symbol is designed to be passed on so the legend can live on. But when you have a brand new movie franchise that includes a bounty of fantastical super-powered beings, do you really want to start it in a canon that’s in arguably the most realistic superhero movie universe? Not to mention that while you can have Batman without Bruce eventually, wouldn’t you want to start with Bruce? Personally I’d rather see a Bruce Wayne Batman who brings on Dick and Jason and Tim and the Batgirls and Damian the Bite Wonder into later movies and writing the Batkids in a way that works. Doesn’t that seem better?

Now, as much as the article says JGL will “absolutely” be the new Batman, I’m not buying it just yet. For one, Gordon-Levitt is very loyal to Christopher Nolan and the work they’ve done together – unless it’s a damn fine script, I don’t see him jumping into a role like this. For another, it’s still incredibly early in the game for DC. Let’s face it, if the new Superman movie tanks, there’s a good chance there won’t be a Justice League movie despite the lure of such multi-franchises as the Marvel Universe movies. So yes, it’s an intriguing rumor … but until I hear more substantial evidence, I’m treating it as simply a rumor.