Rumors of Jake Gyllenhaal possibly taking over for Ben Affleck in The Batman can now officially be laid to rest. In a recent interview, Gyllenhaal denies the rumors that he is next in line to portray the Caped Crusader, which will come as a disappointment to some fans who were looking forward to seeing what he could bring to the character. While Gyllenhaal claims to be out, it's still not clear who will star in Matt Reeves' The Batman.

When reports started to surface that Matt Reeves was looking to cast a new Batman, Jake Gyllenhaal's name was one of the first to reportedly in talks for the role. This isn't the first time that the actor's name has been mentioned with Batman. Christopher Nolan was considering Gyllenhaal for Batman Begins, which may have been where all of these rumors stemmed from to begin with. When asked directly if he was going to be in The Batman, Jake Gyllenhaal had a very simple answer. He had this to say.

"Wow, that's a very difficult question. The answer to that question is no."

That seems like a pretty definitive answer from Jake Gyllenhaal, so who else could be in the running for The Batman? The other name that was floated along with Gyllenhaal's was Mad Men actor Jon Hamm. Hamm would be an interesting choice for the role and could more than likely have what it takes to give a unique spin on Bruce Wayne. However, this all hinges on Ben Affleck not coming back for the movie that he was once supposed to star in, direct, and write. At this time, it doesn't seem likely that Affleck will be in The Batman.

Matt Reeves is still writing the script for The Batman after revealing at the end of last year that he had his story outline complete. We're still a long way from seeing the movie, but it's good to know that there is progress being made in the development department. Reeves was asked a few weeks ago how the project was coming along, and he gave a positive answer that everything was running smoothly, which isn't a whole lot of information, but it's better than nothing at this time.

Jake Gyllenhaal will not be playing the Caped Crusader in The Batman, unless he's playing some kind of clever trick. But a quick look at the video interview doesn't really seem like he's playing coy at all. On the other side of things, Joaquin Phoenix is very much still being coy about his possible involvement with the Joker origin story movie that is being produced by Martin Scorsese. That project will take place outside of the DCEU and under a new banner for Warner Bros. and DC Films. While we wait to see who will portray Batman, you can check out the new interview with Jake Gyllenhaal where he denies the rumors of him taking over for Ben Affleck at the CNA Lifestyle Facebook account. The portion about The Batman is out the 1:23 mark.

Above art by Royy Ledger.

Check out our video where we break down all the actors that were almost Batman at one time or another.