Superhero casting that almost was.

[JacksonArcher]

I believe Bill Murray was also considered for the dark and serious take on Batman under Burton's tenure. I remember reading somewhere with Murray saying that he felt he could've delivered a convincingly serious portrayal of Batman.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Wes Bentley, and James Franco were all at one point or another considered for Spider-Man during Raimi's tenure. Franco would later go on to play Harry Osborn. Similarly, Anton Yelchin was up for Spider-Man recently for the new reboot and is being rumored for Harry Osborn, mirroring James Franco.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

David Duchovny was one of the many actors who was tested for Batman after Michael Keaton left the role. Duchovny later said his nose looked enormous in the cowl. Duchovny also tested for the role of Bruce Banner when a replacement for Eric Bana was being sought.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Duchovny would have been a good Batman.

 

[Greg Cox]

Duchovny would have been a good Batman.

I can see him as Banner, too.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Joel Shumacher was said to favour William Baldwin, with whom he'd worked on Flatliners.

William Baldwin spoke about that in one of the interviews he did promoting Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (in which he voices Batman). He said he was on a short list of four for Batman Forever after Keaton left the role, the other three being Val Kilmer, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Ralph Fiennes. When the part had to be recast again for Batman & Robin, Schumacher told him the studio had picked Kilmer and that this time he was going to go with Baldwin. Schumacher told him that on a Friday and he spent the weekend thinking he was the next Batman. That Monday the trades reported that George Clooney had been cast.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Talking aout Robin, didn't some figures of that get made and shipped, obv now going for a fair bit of money.

Figures were made that were possibly based on the aborted BATMAN RETURNS Robin character, but released as caucasian. Whether they were based on Wayans' appearance is undetermined.

http://www.infinitehollywood.com/2010/06/focus-on-batman-returns-robin.html

One of the rarer 1990's Batman items is a Robin Dragster vehicle, its molds were destroyed in a fire, so it had a short production run.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Steve Buscemi was slated for the Hulk at one stage in the 90s.

That would be have been kinda fun.

 

[Davros]

Back in the 80s I remember rumors of Tom Cruise being cast as Peter Parker for a Cannon Films production of Spider-Man.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Jim Caviezel was originally cast as Cyclops, but thought it was a nothing role and left to make another movie (which was either Frequency or Madison depending on which interview you read). Would Cyclops have been treated with more respect if he had been played by Caviezel instead of James Marsden?

...And he was right. It was a nothing role. I'm not saying it was that by definition, just that it was written that way in the scripts to all three X-Men movies. Cyclops should have been a major part of the movies since he's always been the leader in X-Men lore, but I think the writers just got so fascinated with Rogue, Xavier, Magneto, Jean, and Wolverine (and later Nightcrawler), they pretty much forgot about Cyke.

In the first one, he has given very little to do beside a few 'cute' love triangle moments with Jean and Wolverine. In the second, he's knocked out and off screen for most of the movie, then he gets to play a terrible scene at the end (in my opinion, worst part of an otherwise almost perfect movie). His work in the third was a glorified cameo (although with a different actor it may have been different, since Marsden's role was reduced due to his "Superman Returns" commitment).

I don't think a different actor being cast in the role would have made Cyclops better utilized in the first two X-Men movies. He wasn't given such a disappointing role out of contempt for James Marsden, there were just too many other characters the writers were more interested in or saw as more natural to be the focus of the movie.

Why all the Val Kilmer hate? I've always thought he was the best Batman and I still do (although Bale is a more interesting Bruce Wayne). Even Bob Kane praised Kilmer in the role. He could have used a little more difference in personality between playing Bruce Wayne and Batman, but at least he didn't overdo it like Bale with a stupid raspy Batman voice, and I thought he seemed more natural in the role than Keaton and Clooney.

It's not his fault the movie he was in had shallow characterizations. I think he did a hell of a job with what he was given and definitely gave it his best shot. I read that he was trying to get more into the head of his character and Joel Shumacher said something like, "It's just Batman, stop thinking about it so much and just do it!"

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Duchovny would have been a good Batman.

I can see him as Banner, too.

I see him as Tony Stark - he could do sarcastic, egotistical and out of control.

 

[Jetfire]

From what little I've seen I have enjoyed Diedrich Bader doing the voice of Batman on The Brave And The Bold...think he would have been an interesting choice for a live action Batman.

 

[Kibbin]

If we're bringing him in, how come nobody has ever offered the part to Kevin Conroy? Or have they? I think he'd have to beef up a bit first. Or is it because he's simply not a big enough name outside of our geeky circles?

 

[Shazam!]

Wes Bentley and DiCaprio were up for Spidey

 

[Jetfire]

If we're bringing him in, how come nobody has ever offered the part to Kevin Conroy? Or have they? I think he'd have to beef up a bit first. Or is it because he's simply not a big enough name outside of our geeky circles?

Maybe in the 89 movie or a few years later...I saw some clips on YT of him on Matlock & Murphy Brown...I don't think he would have had to beef up too much.

 

[Christopher]

If we're bringing him in, how come nobody has ever offered the part to Kevin Conroy? Or have they? I think he'd have to beef up a bit first. Or is it because he's simply not a big enough name outside of our geeky circles?

I recall seeing Conroy in a sitcom back in the early '90s (Rachel Gunn, R.N., 1992), and he definitely had the build for Batman then; all he would've needed was to dye his hair darker. But now he's 54 years old, so I think the window for playing Batman in live action is pretty much past (unless it were an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, or unless there's a live-action Batman Beyond series in 20 years).

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

Wasn't Ashton Kucher heavily pushed for Nolan's batman? I thought I had heard they went as far as to film test footage to convince Nolan.

 

[Captaindemotion]

David Duchovny was one of the many actors who was tested for Batman after Michael Keaton left the role. Duchovny later said his nose looked enormous in the cowl. Duchovny also tested for the role of Bruce Banner when a replacement for Eric Bana was being sought.

I remember reading the story about Duchoivny in the 1990s, but I've since seen an interview with him where he's said that it was untrue.

After the B&R debacle, when WB had no idea how to proceed with the franchise, I remember reading that there was to be a Batman v Superman movie, with the then-incumbent George Clooney playing opposite John Travolta (?!) as the Man of Lard, sorry, Steel. Then Richard Donner was supposed to be directing Mel Gibson (Bats) opposite Daniel Day-Lewis (Supes).

This project never seemed to go beyond wishful thinking but several years later Wolfgang Peterson was linked to another BvS project. While most young Hollywood actors seemed to be up for both roles, it was at one stage stated that Colin Farrell would be Batman and Jude Law Superman (Law had also been linked to the JJ Abrams abortive project).

As you all know, this never happened, with Peterson going on to make Troy instead. However, a few years later, the German director reckoned that he'd still like to make it. However, he didn't want to use Bale and Routh, he wanted to cast his Troy stars Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom in the lead roles.

This was a bit like the equally-abortive Worlds Finest project, which also would have eschewed Bale & Routh in favour of new actors in the roles. IIRC, some tv actor called Arne Hammer was supposed to have landed the role of Batman, Jessica Biel turned down Wonder Woman because she would not then have got to play the role in a solo WW movie, while Teresa Palmer was then supposed to play the role. Can't remember if they cast a Superman, before they came to their senses.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

This was a bit like the equally-abortive Worlds Finest project, which also would have eschewed Bale & Routh in favour of new actors in the roles. IIRC, some tv actor called Arne Hammer was supposed to have landed the role of Batman, Jessica Biel turned down Wonder Woman because she would not then have got to play the role in a solo WW movie, while Teresa Palmer was then supposed to play the role. Can't remember if they cast a Superman, before they came to their senses.

That was George Miller's Justice League: Mortal, which Warners pulled the plug on at the last minute. The cast they had lined up was Armie Hammer as Batman, D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Adam Brody as the Flash, Common as Green Lantern/John Stewart, Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman, Hugh Keays-Byrne as the Martian Manhunter, Teresa Palmer as Talia Al Ghul, and Zoe Kazan as Iris Allen.

 

[Agent Richard07]

While George Clooney, a good actor, was just completely wrong for the part.

I thought he was a fantastic Bruce Wayne/Batman, one of the best, even if the movie itself was crap. He's pretty close to being a real-life Bruce Wayne anyway.

After seeing Leo as Dom Cobb in "Inception" I could totally see him as Bruce Wayne/Batman in a Nolan type Batman film.

Too young-looking and boyish.

The rumour mill also had Bob Hoskins and Hoffman for The Penguin.

Danny DeVito was the only name I heard thrown around. He seemed like the obvious choice, the only choice. And sure enough...

I believe Bill Murray was also considered for the dark and serious take on Batman under Burton's tenure. I remember reading somewhere with Murray saying that he felt he could've delivered a convincingly serious portrayal of Batman.

I would have liked to have seen that just because it's so off-the-wall different. You could say that Michael Keaton fit the bill though. At the time he was an unexpected choice too. The long-haired over-the-top comedian who played Beetlejuice as Batman? That was quite a leap. I remember telling my dad that both characters were played by the same person and he couldn't believe it.

Duchovny would have been a good Batman.

Imagine him in the cowl with that weak chin of his. Then there's that deadpan voice. He doesn't strike me as the quintessential Batman, though he might have been entertainging in the part.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Before Jackman, before even Dougray Scott, Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Ed Norton and Guy Pearce were all supposed to have been offered the part of Wolverine. Crowe turned it down because he felt it too similar to his roles in LA Confidential and Gladiator, Gibson didn't want to have to get into that sort of shape again, while Pearce seems to have no interest in comic book adaptations. He and Norton also declined the chance to play Daredevil.