Earlier this week the incumbent Batman confirmed his time as The Dark Knight had come to an end. Affleck confirmed on Twitter: “Excited for #TheBatman in Summer 2021 and to see @MattReevesLA vision come to life.” The 46-year-old starred as the Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, while also doing a cameo in Suicide Squad. Now while Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has been a favourite to be his replacement, he’s now in second place to Jake Gyllenhaal. Related articles The Batman: Who'll REPLACE Ben Affleck? THIS star 'is favourite' Batman: Ben Affleck CONFIRMS exit from DC Comics franchise According to Ladbrokes, Gyllenhaal is 3-1 to be the next Batman, while Harington is just behind on 4-1. Other hot contenders include John Hamm at 6-1, Michael B Jordan at 7-1 and Timothy Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Sterling K Brown and Richard Madden at 9-1. This isn’t the first time that Gyllenhaal has been a hot contender to replace Affleck. After all, the latter’s continuation in the role has been in question ever since Justice League flopped in late 2017. Batman: Jake Gyllenhaal AHEAD of Kit Harington in race to replace Ben Affleck (Image: GETTY) Jake Gyllenhaal has previously said he's not going to play Batman, but now Ben Affleck is gone...? (Image: WB/YOUTUBE) Back in April 2018, Gyllenhaal was asked by CNA Lifestyle if he was the new Batman. Looking quite taken aback, the 38-year-old actor said: “Wow, that’s a very difficult question. “The answer to that question is ‘no’.” Nevertheless, with Affleck now clearly out the way perhaps this is Gyllenhaal’s moment? Related articles Batman solo movie: Guess which MAJOR villain is set to return? Aquaman tops Batman as biggest DC movie EVER ‘No one is laughing’ Ben Affleck played Batman in three movies (Image: WB/GETTY) There is, however, one issue for Gyllenhaal in that he may be too old for the role now. After all, writer-director of The Batman Matt Reeves’ script is based on a younger version of the Dark Knight. Maybe that means a young star like Noah Centineo has more of a chance of playing Bruce Wayne? The Batman is set for release on June 25, 2021.All rights reserved for this news site express.co.uk and under his responsibility