SUMMARY

Alan Ritchson’s early recasting as Aquaman in Smallville spinoff was disappointing, but his career has since flourished.
After his Smallville stint, Ritchson landed roles in Reacher, Titans, and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, finding success.
With potential for Alan Ritchson to be recast as Batman in the DC Extended Universe, his age and skill make him a fitting choice.

After playing Aquaman in the long-running TV series Smallville, Alan Ritchson was recast for the Aquaman spinoff series, a decision that looks even worse in 2024.

Despite being a classic DC Comics superhero and an essential member of numerous Justice League lineups, Aquaman received his first live-action incarnation in 2005, via a 2005 episode of Smallville, with Alan Ritchson playing the role. Ritchson’s version of Aquaman became a reoccurring character in Smallville and a spinoff TV series was planned, yet ultimately only yielded a pilot episode.

The Aquaman pilot, interestingly, did not star Alan Ritchson but instead cast Justin Hartley as the King of the Sea. The pilot was well-received, yet it did not, unfortunately, lead to a full Aquaman TV series.

Hartley would play Green Arrow in Smallville that same year (and become a beloved reoccurring character in the series) and the Aquaman characters and mythos would not return to the realm of live-action until the DC Extended Universe film franchise finally brought the hero to cinemas, with Jason Momoa playing Arthur Curry in multiple films, including two Aquaman solo movies.

The Aquaman pilot’s co-creator, Alred Gough, toyed with the idea of setting the show in the same continuity as Smallville , but due to several notable discrepancies between the two, the Aquaman pilot appears to take place in its own universe.

Why Alan Ritchson Was Recast In The Smallville Aquaman Spinoff Pilot

Alan Ritchson’s first acting role was the Smallville iteration of Aquaman, and the character’s positive reception seemingly guaranteed that Ritchson would reprise the role as the star of the Aquaman TV series. As revealed in an episode of the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, however, it was Ritchson’s lack of experience that likely contributed to his recasting in the pilot.

“I wasn’t mad at all. Why would I be mad? I hadn’t done anything at all; Smallville was my first gig.”

Ritchson noted that the executives at UPN likely wanted a recognized veteran actor for the lead role in Aquaman, and although Ritchson was strongly considered for the role at first, it ultimately went to Justin Hartley.

In 2024, Alan Ritchson Has A Flourishing Acting Career

Despite losing the opportunity to play a lead role in a DC superhero TV series so early on, Alan Ritchson’s acting career nevertheless flourished after his role as Aquaman in Smallville, especially in recent years.

Among many other roles, Ritchson stars as Jack Reacher in the 2022 TV series Reacher, and he played a main role in the 2024 action comedy The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Ritchson even returned to the realm of DC Comics adaptations in the TV series Titans, playing the role of Hawk (Hank Hall), one half of the superhero duo Hawk and Dove.

Ritchson would reprise the role as Hawk in the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, which saw the continuities of multiple live-action DC TV shows collide.

With Titans and the Arrowverse TV shows having concluded, and with the DC Universe partial reboot for the DC Extended Universe underway, however, there may be room for Ritchson to return to the realm of live-action DC Comics adaptations. Jason Momoa’s time as Aquaman is seemingly over, but there is another iconic DC superhero who Alan Ritchson could play in the DCU.

Alan Ritchson Could Still Lead His Own DC Movie Series

One of the first DCU characters announced to be due for a recast was Ben Affleck’s Batman. There are plenty of excellent actors to potentially play the DCU’s Batman (with Jensen Ackles being a popular choice), and Alan Ritchson could easily be among them.

Ritchson expressed a strong desire to play Batman in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, noting a particular interest in Batman’s intelligence and vast array of technologically advanced vehicles. Considering Ritchson’s successful roles in recent years and his interest in portraying the character, he would be an ideal choice for the role.

Another factor is Alan Ritchson’s age. Batman is set to have his first DCU solo film in The Brave and the Bold, which will star not only Batman but also the Damian Wayne iteration of Robin.

In DC’s comics, Danian is the fifth Robin, which implies that the DCU’s Batman will be a seasoned veteran, having trained multiple sidekicks by his introduction. At 41, Ritchson is at the right age to play an experienced Batman, and casting him as one of DC’s “big three” superheroes would certainly make up for his recasting in the SmallvilleAquaman spinoff series.