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A orotund issue of player have playedBatmanover the old age , and thanks tothe expanding multiverse of the DCEU , it seems like a wad more are about to . Beyond the actors who actually portrayed the Dark Knight , dozens more almost played the role in any one of the versions of the character that have been brought to the screen over the years .
The same is true of the Joker . Fewer actor - until recently at least - have had a opportunity to play the part . Many almost did , leave fans with a raft of what if ’s .
Batman (Kurt Russell)
This one kind of stings . It ’s easy to see Kurt Russell in the role of Bruce Wayne and Batman . He likely would have fit into just about any version of the franchise from the serious Nolan celluloid to the campy Joel Schumacher era . Schumacher is where Russell take his chance . After Val Kilmer left the office , a new Batman was needed again forBatman And Robin . Russell ultimately did n’t take the roleand it blend in to George Clooney . It was probably a sound idea Russell conduct a go .
Joker (Paul Bettany)
It ’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing the Joker inThe Dark Knight , but Heath Ledger was not always a lock for the role . betimes on in development for the film , director Christopher Nolan considered many actors . Paul Bettany was high on the list . The English actor is famous for playing Vision in the MCU and is about to providea very bonkers take on the character inWandaVision . It ’s not clear why he did n’t cease up in the function , but there are always more Joker movies .
Batman (Ethan Hawke)
Michael Keaton turned down a chance to bet Batman a third metre ( well , for a while anyway ) and that opened the room access to someone novel . Val Kilmer end up donning the ness inBatman Forever , but Ethan Hawkeactually turned down the part . The worker , known for his wide and vary career , worried he would be type if he played the part . He ultimately regretted it , saying in a later interview that playing the function would have opened a lot of doors for him in his career .
Joker (Robin Williams)
Looking back it only seems natural that Robin Williams would have been considered for the Joker . In retrospect it ’s odd he never played him . Williams was considered for the role in the 1989 Batman plastic film mastermind by Tim Burton . That part magnificently went to Jack Nicholson . Shockingly , Williams was turn down for the role ( and The Riddler ) by three different film director .
Tim Burton , Joel Schumacher , and Christopher Nolan all passed over the legendary actor for others . feel like a Brobdingnagian missed opportunity .
Batman (Cillian Murphy)
Christopher Nolan sought a dissimilar sort of Bruce Wayne and Batman when he started study onBatman Begins . His hunt finally lead him to Christian Bale but also up for consideration was doer Cillian Murphy . Murphy did n’t get the part obviously ( thanks in part to a Batsuit issue)but did affect Nolan enough to be cast as the villain Scarecrow , who isone of the few Batman screen villains not to conk out . Murphy reprised the role in both sequel to the moving picture and continue to work with the director in his subsequent moving picture likeInception .
Joker (David Bowie)
One of the most intriguing what if ’s regarding the Joker has to be David Bowie . The chameleon - comparable vocalist and thespian does n’t seem an obvious choice for the theatrical role but he would have brought an alien quality to it that certainly would have been unique . Screenwriter Sam Hamm wanted the icon for the part in the 1989 picture show , remember he was complete for it . Tim Burton ultimately want something a little more broad and campy and Bowie never became a substantial possibility .
Batman (Josh Brolin)
When Zack Snyder decide that the Dark Knight was going to play a big persona in the sequel toMan of Steel , one of the music director ’s best motion-picture show , he immediately commence search for a new Bruce Wayne . One of the first actors he met with for the part was Josh Brolin . Brolin fits the bill in a lot of ways and would have made for an excellent Bruce Wayne / Batman ( though a little more on the ill-humored side ) . He leaven his comic book chop by beingone of the greatest movie villains of the last X .
Joker (Willem Dafoe)
Another doer that writer Sam Hamm thought would be consummate for the Joker in the 1989 Tim Burton film was Willem Dafoe . He believed the histrion had the good physical quality for the purpose . Dafoe in the end lost out to Jack Nicholson but it ’s easy to see him in the part .
Dafoe go on to take on another major comical book villain . He play Green Goblin in the 2002Spider - Manmovie . The costume maybe did n’t workbut a lot of the film did .
Batman (Alec Baldwin)
When Michael Keaton declined the chance to get back forthe nominate third Tim Burton Batman filmin the early ' 90s , Warner Bros. search gamy and low for a alternate . Alec Baldwin had been in considerationfor the function before the ' 89 movie and ultimately decide against joining the dealership when the chance came around again . Part of the reason might have been that after he missed out on the original Batman motion picture he went on to playThe Shadow . That movie did n’t do well .
Joker (Ryan Gosling)
Heath Ledger posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his function as the Joker inThe Dark Knightand made it hard to ideate someone else in that role . That was the challenge for the thespian fiddle the scoundrel in the 2016 movieSuicide Squad . Jared Leto won the privilege , but perhaps only afterRyan Gosling deform it down . Gosling has never confirmed the written report but it would have been an interesting take on the fiber for indisputable ( possibly he could mistreat in for the Leto version ) .
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