It’s not too surprising to learn many movie bloggers aren’t fans of Mad Men. They’re movie geeks, not TV viewers, and they probably spend their Sunday nights re-watching favorite horror flicks and Dark Knight DVD extras. That’s why a lot of sites commenting on the news that Jon Hamm is joining Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch focus on the movie and the Watchmen director more than on the actor. Which is fine for now, even if it makes the casting decision seem questionable, because ultimately this career move is going to help Hamm acquire fanboy fans, and that’s one thing he needs in order to truly become the next George Clooney.

After all, Clooney’s first major film role after becoming a star on TV’s ER was Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s vampire picture From Dusk Till Dawn. And Snyder’s movie isn’t too far off, regardless of the fact none of us really know what Sucker Punch is going to be like other than maybe a Return to Oz knockoff. That movie will bring Hamm to Comic-Con, which will potentially gain him more followers who think he’d be perfect for a Superman movie (Clooney played Batman soon after FDTD). And so on.

Many Mad Men fans might prefer for Hamm to concentrate on dramatic roles as he segues into a movie career, but like Clooney, Hamm is likely better suited for genre films and silly comedies first. He certainly has shown he enjoys and can do comedic acting via 30 Rock, SNL and a FunnyorDie sketch that already got the geeks’ attention with his portrayal of Lex Luthor. Might he try being cast in a Coen Brothers film next? Or should he reconnect with the makers of The Ten and make David Wain & co. his goofball collaborators instead?

The only Clooney career step I’d like Hamm to avoid is the big budget, non-geek-centric action movie. He doesn’t need a Peacemaker or a Perfect Storm, and we kinda hope he got that sort of thing out of his system with The Day the Earth Stood Still. Plus, Hamm is already entering the film biz later than Clooney. When he was Hamm’s age, Clooney’d already made two of his best films, Out of Sight and Three Kings.

Let me know what kind of films you’d like to see Hamm do and what you think would be good for him to do. Before commenting, though, check out what some other film bloggers are saying about his latest film choice after the jump:

• Anne Thompson at Thompson on Hollywood disagrees with me, preferring another of Hamm’s film choices as the right direction to go in:
  

  I have high hopes for the first film, The Town, director Ben Affleck’s romantic thriller set in Boston, which starts shooting in September.  I’m less confident in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, a 50s action fantasy for Warners. Hamm has enormous potential—he could be the next George Clooney—but has to pick right while he has the chance.

• Simon Dang at The Playlist also thinks Hamm is hurting his career with this part:
  

  Why a respected, much-loved actor like Hamm would join this film is beyond us. We’re sure in years to come he’ll regret having a character named High Roller tainting his resume next to Don Draper. Hamm also has Ben Affleck’s “The Town” and Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s James Franco starrer “Howl” on his plate.

• Renn Brown at CHUD.com recognizes that this should introduce many geeks to Hamm, and maybe even Mad Men:
  

  John Hamm is an actor I know better from his online comedy work (he’s done a few great Funny Or Die sketches) than his film work. I’ve yet to jump on the Mad Men train and I never caught The Day The Earth Stood Still. I’ll definitely be seeing Hamm in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch –the cast of which he has just joined– but that’s not till 2011. Maybe I’ll grab a Mad Men DVD by then.

• Katey Rich at Cinema Blend is more hopeful that young girls will become Hamm fans through this movie:
  

  If teenage girls aren’t currently in love with Jon Hamm, either their parents are keeping them away from quality TV or they just haven’t yet learned the appeal of a square jaw and a slight smirk. But with the Mad Men star joining the cast of Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, it might just be time for a teen girl awakening.

• Over at Aint It Cool News, the commenters are arguing a bit over whether Hamm should play Superman or Batman (or should have played Green Lantern). Meanwhile, “CaptainAxis” puts it out there that Hamm’s casting will give Snyder credibility more than get Hamm in good with the fanboys:
  

  I wasn’t overly interested in this movie, but the addition of Jon Hamm definitely helps. I’m not a Snyder fanboy but I do think he deserves a lot more credit than some of you give him, so I defend the guy when I see some pretentious douchebag on here ranting about him being a hack. You may not like Snyder or the films he makes, but that doesn’t make him a hack. Hopefully he will prove it to the “haters” with Sucker Punch.

• Adam Rosenberg at MTV Movies Blog also wonders if Hamm will help Snyder more than vice versa:
  

  Snyder has plenty of pop culture cache after “Watchmen,” though his controversial treatment of the source — and liberal changes made to the ending in particular — has probably left some fans in doubt…Hamm is certainly a valuable addition to the cast; not only is he a talented performer, but the ever-growing “Mad Men” crowd will certainly boost the interest surrounding “Sucker Punch.”

• Amos Barshad at Vulture sees the setting as being appropriate for Hamm:
  

  There are no details available for the role, but two things make this sound like a good fit: The movie is set in the fifties, so Hamm can just bring a suit from Mad Men; also, his character’s name is High Roller.

• Alex Billington at FirstShowing has no idea if Hamm will be good for the role, due to its secrecy:
  

  While we know Hamm’s character goes by the awesome name High Roller, all other details are being kept under tight wraps. And it’s not easy to figure out what his role might entail with a movie described as “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns.”

• Neil Miller at Film School Rejects just hopes it’s not as bad a career choice as The Day the Earth Stood Still:
  

  Without more information it is difficult to say whether or not this is a good fit for Hamm, or vice versa. It certainly is good to see Dick Whitman getting some work outside of Madison, Avenue though. I just hope that this, like his previous forays into the world of cinema, doesn’t come out the other end smelling nearly as bad as say, that movie with Keanu Reeves as the alien. That, was bad.

• Krystal Clark at ScreenCrave guesses the nature of the character:
  

  As if the story wasn’t creepy enough, we know next to nothing about Hamm’s character. The only thing the studio’s released is his name, which will be “High Roller.” What is he a pimp?

• Elisabeth Rappe at Cinematical takes another educated guess:
  

  …he’s only known to be playing someone named High Roller. But given what major role has yet to be cast, I’m willing to bet he’s playing the stepfather. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Hamm doing a bit of Captain Hook duty, and popping up as the antagonist of the girls’ dream world as well.

• Dan Hopper at Best Week Ever doesn’t care about character details so long as the role is similar to a certain other part in a prior Snyder picture:
  

  John Hamm is set to star as a character named “High Roller” in the upcoming Zack Snyder-directed film Sucker Punch. I’m sure I’m not the only one kiiiiind of hoping for a shirtless-Hamm yelling “SPARTA” scene.