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Author Topic: 10 Actors Almost Cast As Batman (Who Would Have Sucked Way More Than Affleck)  (Read 1656 times)

gotenks

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Since Ben Affleck was announced as the next Batman, the internet has been a typically colourful and inflammatory place, spewing outrage and pompous, preposterous petitions to have him removed forcibly from the role (as if it is somehow cherished, and we can all lay claim to its preservation). Bloggers, journalists and even politicians have took it upon themselves to decry the casting as an abomination, a travesty and a downright betrayal of the fans, because, presumably, they’ve all seen Pearl Harbour and Armageddon. But really, Affleck is not that bad a choice. Yes, he has made some stunningly bad movies, but his latest acting work – in Argo and The Town chiefly – has been exceptional, and it seems his move into directing has given him the same kind of insight into the art of acting that it gave to Clint Eastwood. And in the grand scheme of things, Affleck was far from the worst case scenario many are publically proclaiming him to be, because frankly, it could have been worse.

]Honourable Mention

Armie Hammer

10. Heath Ledger  Before he was cast as The Joker (with hysterical fan outrage, it’s worth adding), the Aussie rising star was under consideration for the lead in Chris Nolan’s reboot: according to the director himself, the pair met to discuss the possibility, but Ledger was less than enthused by the project:Why It Would Have Sucked For one reason and one reason only: the casting would have ensured that we didn’t get to see Ledger’s Joker, and that would have been the worst casting crime in the history of Batman movies, which is both ironic and deeply pertinent here, given the initial reaction to his casting before The Dark Knight.

9. Tom Selleck Why It Would Have Sucked Even though he sported one of the most luxurious moustaches in the history of facial furniture, Selleck is just too clean cut to pull off the necessary edge. Casting Batman isn’t as simple a process Plus, there’s the moustache issue. It would have been great to see a Bruce Wayne with a glorious lip adornment, because playboys can only be made better by such arrangements, but the logistics of having a moustache and wearing the Bat-cowl are just plain troublesome.

8. Ethan Hawke  Back when Joel Schumacher was still considered a good option to replace Tim Burton on the franchise, the studio was scouring the known world for an actor to step into the boots of the excellent Michael Keaton, and the shortlist they drew up included Hawke, who had made some waves with Dead Poet’s Society, Alive and erm, White Fang
Why It Would Have Sucked Somewhat incredibly, Hawke actually turned the role down because he thought it would hurt his acting credibility. That’s Ethan Hawke, star of such classic movies as Chelsea Walls, The Velocity Of Gary and Getaway. Hawke is a good actor… in about a tenth of the films he actually stars in, which is about half the amount that you will be aware of actually existing (seriously, check his IMDB page, the man makes more films than Michael Madsen.) That he had the audacity to turn Batman down, considering some of the things he has gone on to make is just baffling, especially as there’s a good chance – simply looking at his success rate – that he would have sucked in the role.

7. Johnny Depp  Another one on the early list for Batman Forever – possibly because of his close links with outgoing Batman director Tim Burton – Depp would certainly have brought something different to the role than Val Kilmer, who was of course ultimately cast, but his association with the film never seemed to get beyond the talking stage. Thankfully.
Why It Would Have Sucked  Depp is just too quirky: he might have made a reasonable Batman, where the oddity could shine and he could channel his inner theatricality (though perhaps a little less than he did for Jack Sparrow) but he just doesn’t have the right charm or poise for Bruce Wayne.

6. Jake Gyllenhaal  Before Christian Bale brought his now infamous growl to Nolan’s Bat-franchise (having been initially turned down for the Robin role in Schumacher’s iteration of the franchise), Jake Gyllenhaal, who similarly was almost cast as Spiderman before his almost doppelganger Toby Maguire swung in successfully, was one of the names strongly attached to the role. In fact, Gyllenhaal had the backing of David S Goyer, before auditions, though the writer was ultimately swayed by Christian Bale’s audition
Why It Would Have Sucked Not to be too cruel, but Gyllenhaal doesn’t have the emotional range necessary for more complex leading roles, and though Batman might seem to be a less challenging character to play considering the freedom afforded by the costume, the necessary dueling of personalities required to balance both Batman and Bruce Wayne is far from an easy prospect

5. Joshua Jackson Along with Gyllenhaal, and perhaps considered for the same reasons as the former Donnie Darko lead, Joshua Jackson was considered

Why It Would Have Sucked  Quite why Jackson was even lightly considered for the role remains baffling. He played the charismatic, slightly wounded best friend type in Dawson’s Creek, and had hopped around various similar film projects after that ended, like Cruel Intentions, The Skulls and Urban Legend. None were of the calibre necessary to convince that Jackson was anything but a reasonably diverting side-character actor, charming in a boyish way, and perhaps a reasonable choice for Robin, if Nolan had wanted to go in the same tonal direction as Joel Schumacher

4. Ashton Kutcher  Along with Angel star David Boreanaz, Two And A Half Men star Kutcher was considered before Christian Bale was cast for Nolan’s take on the property. Now, Boreanaz might have been a reasonable choice – his association with Buffy might have been slightly distracting (though big franchise cross-over casting clearly hasn’t worried comic book movie makers as much as you might think) but he has the right feel for the role – but Kutcher would have been like a fish on a bicycle, or a horse in space. Lost, confused and mildly offensive.

Why It Would Have Sucked  It may seem cruel to reduce an actor’s catalogue to one film, but like Keanu Reeves, Kutcher is very obviously still trading on the role that made him most famous. Aside from very slight flashes in The Butterfly Effect, Kutcher invariably plays slightly tweaked versions of his Dude, Where’s My Car character (as does co-star Sean William Scott, incidentally) and it’s precisely because that casting was so nailed on. It wasn’t that Kutcher was able to convincingly pretend to be that character, it feels more and more like he just naturally fitted into the film with minimal effort – just as Reeves did for Bill & Ted.


3. William Baldwin  Hot on the heels of successes with Flatliners and Backdraft, the second best Baldwin brother was reportedly considered for the twin-lead role for Batman Forever before it went to Val Kilmer.You can see why he might have been considered, given how almost every single Batman actor has basically copied an extreme version of Baldwin’s raspy voice (to different degrees,) but two good film performances and a suitable voice do not a Batman make, and the casting directors ultimately made the better decision to go in a different direction. As a side note, the quality of his voice did get the inevitable, and wholly justified acknowledgement when he voiced Batman for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths in 2010

Why It Would Have Sucked  He’s the wrong Baldwin, for a start. Brother Alec, who was also linked with the role at one stage, would have made a great dark superhero, thanks to that brooding charisma that makes him so effortlessly watchable; there’s a mischievous twinkle in those eyes that would have worked remarkably well behind the cowl, as well as for Wayne. But William was the squarest of pegs for a very round hole, when he was considered for Batman Forever, even if he had shown some form with Backdraft and Flatliners.


2. Charlie Sheen  Back in 1989, well before the world went a little bit mental, and tiger blood and winning gained all new meanings, Charlie Sheen was one of the hottest rising stars in Hollywood: he had a string of successes in the shape of Platoon, Wall Street, Young Guns and Eight Men Out, and his high stock was well justified. That reputation was enough to push him close to Tim Burton’s Batman, at least to the stage of talks being held, which is good enough to earn him a place high on this list

Why It Would Have Sucked Perhaps recent events have tainted the image of Sheen as an actor – he was very good in Wall Street, and indeed as the lead in Platoon, where he showed an emotional range fitting to Bruce Wayne, but in 1989, he was only 24 years old, a remarkably young age to be considered for Batman, especially when you consider what Michael Keaton’s casting did for the role (especially in terms of Bruce Wayne.)


1. Bill Murray  Bill Murray is one of those actors who was at one stage linked to a host of incredible roles: at various times in his career, he has been touted as choices for Bad Santa, Toy Story, Forrest Gump and The Witches Of Eastwick – all of which he would have suited in one way or another. But the Ghostbusters star was also in the running for Tim Burton’s first Batman outing, before Michael Keaton got the nod.

Why It Would Have Sucked  This is the ultimate case of a great acting being completely wrong for a role. Pretty much everything Murray has touched has turned to gold, but even his most serious roles have been edged with too much comedy for him to have been a suitable candidate for Batman. It’s hard not to imagine that his Bruce Wayne wouldn’t have just been another version of his Frank Cross from Scrooged, channeling the same irresistible snark that makes most of his roles so successful, from Groundhog Day to Space Jam.