Armie Hammer may have almost been cast as Batman, but he certainly is not starring in any “Dark Knight” films now. The actor was set to lead German filmmaker Uwe Boll’s action feature “The Dark Knight,” before Warner Bros. allegedly requested a title change. Hammer is now starring in what is called “Citizen Vigilante” instead.
“We had a very friendly conversation with Warner Bros. and decided to change our title to ‘Citizen Vigilante’ to avoid any confusion with Warners’ famous character,” Boll told Variety, while executive producer Michael Roesch added that Warner Bros. was the one to directly ask for the amendment.
Warner Bros. “contacted us and asked us to change the title,” Roesch said. “It was a very amicable discussion.” He added that the film also “got a lot of feedback from fans, who asked us to change the title because of its similarity with Chris Nolan’s movie, so this was another factor in changing the title.”
IndieWire has reached out to WB for comment.
Hammer stars as Sanders, “a man who takes justice into his own hands and sets out to hunt down criminals. His vigilante crusade turns him into a social media sensation and a hero in the eyes of the public,” the logline reads. “Citizen Vigilante” will be presented at the 2025 Cannes Film Market with a promo reel as a sales title.
Hammer was rumored to be on the shortlist to replace Ben Affleck as Batman for Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” in 2019. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Nicholas Hoult were among the other actors included; Robert Pattinson landed the role. Hammer said at the time that he was not actually in talks with anyone who could have casted him, though. He told Yahoo Movies UK, “No one who can actually give me the job has asked me if I’m interested.”
Hammer later left Hollywood after being accused of sexual assault in 2021. The accusations were investigated by the LAPD; no charges were filed. His role in Travis Mills’ Western “Frontier Crucible” was announced as his acting return in 2024. Hammer has said he is still largely “not welcome” in Hollywood and instead is working on a semi-autobiographical script to produce himself.
