There are few brands with as long a history with blockbuster filmmaking asDC Comics. DC’s superhero characters have been icons in the entertainment industry for the better part of a century now. Through those years, there have been dozens of different film and television adaptations of these larger-than-life characters, ranging from Batman to Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Catwoman and more. For every DC movie that has been made, there have been several others that never came together.
Many actors’ careers have been given significant boosts by their inclusion in a DC film project. Whether it be Michael Keaton as Batman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman or Christopher Reeve as Superman, the actors that have played DC’s heroes and villains over the years have often become iconic in the roles. However, many of the casting decisions in DC’s biggest films were almost significantly different from what actually came to fruition.
Roles like Batman, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman, and more were almost given to other actors that would have had notably dissimilar takes on the characters. Here are 11 instances where a major DC role almost went to a different actor:
11Nicholas Hoult as Batman – The Batman (2022)
The development cycle of 2022’sThe Batman, directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson, was a very long one. Throughout that process, there were many different ideas of what the movie would eventually be. When it came to casting, there were several other actors that almost got the part instead of Pattinson. One actor that has been openly talking about their audition for Batman lately isNicholas Hoult. Known most for his roles as Beast in theX-Menprequel films, the war boy Nux inMad Max: Fury Roadand, most recently, Dracula’s titular depressed assistant inRenfield, Hoult is no stranger to blockbuster cinema.
The actor was in serious consideration to play the caped crusader inThe Batmanbefore the part ultimately went to Pattinson. Hoult holds no grudges about losing the part, though, as he toldGQ Españathat “I don’t think I would have done as good a job as [Pattinson] ultimately. I don’t think I could have fit as well into the world that Matt created as Rob did.”
Related:DC: Why Ben Affleck Deserved Better Than the DCEU and Snyderverse
Tom Hardywas more than close to playing the character of Rick Flag in 2016’sSuicide Squad. Hardy had actually signed on to play the role and had been officially announced as part of the cast alongside Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared Leto. Everything was going well for Hardy in the role during development, but he was eventually forced to drop out of the role due to scheduling conflicts.
He was deep in the process of filming Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2015 filmThe Revenant, which ended up taking a lot longer than was initially expected. Because of this, he was unable to filmSuicide Squadand had to be replaced. Joel Kinnaman ended up stepping in to play Flag, while Hardy went on to receivean Oscar nomination for his part inThe Revenant.
9Amanda Seyfried as Lois Lane – Man of Steel (2013)
Back in the early days of the DCEU, when Zack Snyder was still in early development onMan of Steel,Amanda Seyfriedcame close to playing the role of Lois Lane. At the time, Seyfried had also narrowly missed playing a lead role in Snyder’s previous filmSucker Punch, but the director was still very interested in working with her.
Seyfried had auditioned for the part of Lane inMan of Steel, and she reportedly had made a great impression on Snyder. However, for one reason or another, she ultimately missed out on the role. Amy Adams ended up portraying Lane inMan of Steel, as well as several other DC films that followed in the years after.
8Justin Timberlake as Green Lantern – Green Lantern (2011)
2011’sGreen Lanternwas a disaster, there’s no doubt about that, but it was almost a very different kind of train wreck. Before the lead role was given to Ryan Reynolds, who was well-cast despite the film’s various other issues, reports indicated that pop starJustin Timberlakewas a front-runner for the part. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the former NSYNC star attempted to make the jump from music to acting, as he appeared in numerous films likeThe Social Network,Friends with Benefits, andIn Time.
Casting Timberlake as Hal Jordan inGreen Lanternwould have been a very natural decision at the time, but thankfully that never actually came to fruition. Reynolds is one of the few redeeming factors of that film, and a Timberlake take on Green Lantern would likely have not aged well.
7Robin Williams as The Riddler – Batman Forever (1995)
From one iconic green DC character to another, the role of the Batman villain the Riddler was famously played by Jim Carrey inBatman Forever, but that almost wasn’t the case. One of Carrey’s main comedic competitors in Hollywood at the time, Robin Williams, was actually the first choice to play the role.
The film’s screenwriter, Lee Batchler, toldThe Hollywood Reporterthat Williams had always been the intended actor for the role. He said, “It was going to be Robin Williams. With the Riddler, we wrote it with Robin’s voice. He read our script and loved it, they just didn’t make the deal. So when it came to Jim Carrey, he very much did our script. It was just a little less Robin Williams.”
6Olga Kurylenko as Wonder Woman – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justive (2016)
When the DCEU began to take shape in the early 2010s, when it was thought that it would be one of the few major competitors to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there were a lot of major roles to cast. For 2016’sBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, specifically, actors needed to be found for most of the major Justice League characters.
One of the biggest was the role of Wonder Woman, which ultimately went to Gal Gadot. Before Gadot was cast, though,Olga Kurylenkowas considered a front-runner. Though she missed out on the role, Kurylenko did eventually enter the superhero arena. She joined the MCU in 2020’sBlack Widow, in which she played the villain Taskmaster, and she isset to return in theThunderboltsmoviein 2024.
5Adam Driver as Lex Luthor – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Another major character that needed to be cast forBatman v. Supermanwas the iconic Superman villain Lex Luthor. There were a lot of actors in the running for the part before Jesse Eisenberg was eventually (and controversially) cast in the role. One of the most famous actors that almost got the part was none other thanAdam Driver.
The actor, who was gearing up for his big breakout role as Kylo Ren inStar Wars, would have been a very different choice for the part. Driver and Eisenberg both have very distinct presences as performers, and Driver’s take on Luthor would have brought a significantly different energy toBatman v. Superman. Driver has still had a great career without the role of Luthor, and now he is reportedly one of the chief contenders for the role of Reed Richards in Marvel’s newFantastic Fourfilm.
Related:The Best DC Comic Adaptations, Ranked
4Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Black Canary – Birds of Prey (2020)
2020’sBirds of Preyis one of the most underrated DC movies from recent years, and part of the reason why the movie works so well is because of its outstanding cast. One of the major standouts from the film was Jurnee Smollett, who played the character Black Canary.
However, Smollett almost lost out on the role to another up-and-coming actor,Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Mbatha-Raw had recently been seen in films such asThe Cloverfield Paradoxand Ava Duvernay’sA Wrinkle in Time. Although she missed out on the role of Black Canary, Mbatha-Raw has also joined the MCU in the years since, asshe plays Ravonna Renslayer in theLokiserieson Disney+.
After James Gunn’s temporary firing from the director’s chair onGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, DC was quick to sweep up the director and offer him essentially anything he wanted. The project Gunn ended up producing was 2021’sThe Suicide Squad, which featured the breakout character Peacemaker, played by John Cena.
However, Cena was not who Gunn had in mind to play the character when he initially wrote the script. Reportedly, Gunn had imagined hisGuardians of the GalaxycollaboratorDave Bautistain the role. Bautista was very interested in the role, but he ultimately turned down the part after he was offered the lead role in Snyder’sArmy of the Dead.
Going back to 2016’sSuicide Squad, Jared Leto’s Joker was one of the most talked-about aspects of that film, as fans were intensely divided over the actor’s take on the crown prince of crime. However, Leto was not the first choice to play the role. As crazy as it may sound,Ryan Goslingwas actually one of the top picks to play the Joker opposite Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. The actor had reportedly met to discuss the role on several occasions, but he ultimately walked away from the part because he did not want to sign a multi-picture agreement.
This makes sense considering, looking at Gosling’s career, he has never played the same character more than once.Blade Runner 2049is the only sequel he has made, and he was not involved in the production of the firstBlade Runner. Although he walked away fromSuicide Squad, he can still be seen starring alongside Robbie in Greta Gerwig’sBarbielater this year.
