WhenZack Snyder’sBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicewas announced in the summer of 2013, it was just one year after directorChristopher Nolanhad wrapped up hisBatmantrilogy withThe Dark Knight Rises. Despite both directorChristopher Nolanand starChristian Baleinsisting they were done with the franchise, speculation swirled that Warner Bros. was trying to bring the actor back as the Dark Knight. That never came to fruition, withBen Affleckcoming aboard to playBatman. However, directorZack Snyderrevealed in an interview withFilmInk, that he had considered castingChristian Balein a completely different role. Here’s what he had to say, about how this new superhero universe is separate fromChristopher Nolan’s trilogy.
“This is a total and opposite reality from theChris Nolanmovies. It’s another universe, so we couldn’t hireChristian Baleif we wanted to, because he doesn’t exist in our world. Maybe we could hire him to play another part. We did talk about that briefly. I just wanted to hire Christian to play another part to make that obvious. Christian could play, like, Alfred with age makeup. No! Of course not. But you know what I mean. Even people at the studio would say, ‘Who are you getting from the other movies?’ And I was like, ‘Hey, come on guys, let’s all understand, it’s a different world.’ In theBatmanuniverse that Chris Nolan created,Supermanwould have a hard time existing. That that’s why we did a reboot on the universe, so we could allow these characters to exist together. We needed to do that to have Batman exist in this world.”
Back in August 2013, just weeks after the initialBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceannouncement, arumorsurfaced that Warner Bros. had offeredChristian Balea staggering $50 million to come back and play the Dark Knight. The actor himself cleared up those rumors in December 2014, revealing he never had “a single conversation” about playing Batman once again. Still, even if Zack Snyder had considered bringingChristian Baleback in a different role, it isn’t known if he actually approached the actor about this possibility, or if it was only discussed internally.
The newBatman,Ben Affleck, will certainly be keeping busy over the next few years. He filmed what is believed to be a small cameo role inSuicide Squad, and next month, he begins production onJustice League Part 1. There had been rumors that bothJustice League Part 1(July 29, 2025) andJustice League Part 2(August 26, 2025) would be shot back to back, but that isn’t happening anymore. It isn’t known if there are plans for the Dark Knight to show up in any of the other DCEU movies at this time.
Still, even ifZack Snyderwould have offeredChristian Balea role inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we don’t know whether or not he would have actually taken it. Do you think it would have been smart to haveChristian Balein a completely different role inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Chime in with your thoughts, and stay tuned for more on this superhero adventure as we get closer and closer to the March 25 release date.
