Warner Bros is beginning their hunt for a new Batman in earnest, having apparently assembled a wish list of hunky a-list actors.

Rugged man candy Joe Manganiello, Josh Brolin, Richard Armitage, Matthew Goode and Max Martini are all said to be in Warner’s contemplation. While of course, perpetually brooding superstar Ryan Gosling is also rumoured to be very high on the studios wish list.

As the search for a new caped crusader intensifies it has also been revealed that the new Superman film will apparently avoid re-telling Batman’s overly familiar origin story. Safely assuming that after seven feature films of varying quality, audiences already know who this Batman guys is.

David S. Goyer has already started work on a script ahead of an ambitious release date in 2015.