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Darren Aronofsky Wanted To Make Batman Film With Joaquin Phoenix As Bruce Wayne

Darren Aronofsky Wanted To Make Batman Film With Joaquin Phoenix As Bruce Wayne

How different things could have been

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

There's a huge vault of films that never should have been made, but sadly were. Equally, there are countless films that were never quite made which really should have been - like Darren Aronofsky's Batman movie starring Joaquin Phoenix.

The Black Swan and The Wrestler director was in talks with Warner Bros about making a Batman film in the early noughties following on from the success of Requiem for a Dream, however, his vision of Phoenix as Bruce Wayne was not a vision shared by the studio.

Speaking to Empire, the 51-year-old said: "The studio wanted Freddie Prinze Jr and I wanted Joaquin Phoenix. I remember thinking, 'Uh oh, we're making two different films here.'

Darren Aronofsky wanted to cast Joaquin Phoenix as Batman.
PA

"That's a true story. It was a different time. The Batman I wrote was definitely a way different type of take than they ended up making."

He continued: "The Batman that was out before me was Batman & Robin, the famous one with the nipples on the Batsuit, so I was really trying to undermine that, and reinvent it. That's where my head went."

As much as I'm sure we'd all like to have seen this vision actualised, the fact we didn't meant we got the Christopher Nolan version, which wasn't bad, was it?

Plus, it would have almost definitely stopped us ever getting to enjoy Phoenix's Oscar-winning portrayal of Batman's adversary the Joker.

Despite the likes of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger famously playing the character previously, Phoenix managed to portray a uniquely compelling version of the clown prince of crime in Joker, which captivated audiences across the globe last year.

Joaquin Phoenix told LADbible he has 'explored' roles in other comic book-based films.
PA

There's also the small matter of whether the 45-year-old actor would have be on board with Aronofsky's Batman vision. Speaking to LADbible, he said the filmmaker leading a project and his relationship with them always determines whether or not he takes on a part.

He said: "I've explored a few films that are comic book inspired and it really just ultimately comes down to the filmmaker and whether it's the experience I want to have.

"For me, what's important, what motivates my decisions, is not so much the character or the genre, or the type of movie - it's the filmmaker. It's really that simple. So I'm open to every kind of movie, I think it just requires a conversation with the filmmakers, to see if we have a shared vision, or even if we just like each other."

In another world, who knows how things might have panned out?

Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros

Topics: TV and Film, Joaquin Phoenix, US Entertainment, Batman