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Christian Bale Almost Played Superman Before Batman Begins

Bale was one of two actors on the short list for Wolfgang Petersen's Batman vs. Superman!
Following the demise of the Batman franchise at the hands of Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin, and before Warner Bros. had decided to let Bryan Singer make Superman Returns, his homage to Richard Donner and Christopher Reeves, German director Wolfgang Petersen was tapped to bring both of DC's powerhouses together in one movie: Batman vs. Superman!

On Petersen's short list of actors--down to just two, actually--was none other than Christian Bale, the actor comic book fans have come to know and love as the gruff-voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise.


Just how close did Batman vs. Superman come to being made? Petersen recently told MTV:

"It was pretty close. And then the studio got a single Superman script I think from J.J. Abrams at that time, and [Warner Bros. chief] Alan Horn was so torn – because it’s such a fascinating concept to do a Batman versus Superman film. And I still think it would be to do that. But the studio decided to try separate versions of Superman and Batman, and then maybe think about down the road if you want to bring them together in one film."

But, Petersen has no regrets. Warner Bros. offered him Troy after Batman vs. Superman fell through and he said that he really enjoys Nolan's take on Batman:

"I loved Dark Knight! I was completely sucked into it, blown away by it. I thought right away it deserved an Academy Award for Best Picture, and I was really disappointed that it didn’t get it. I thought Heath Ledger was just phenomenal. I am a big fan of that movie."

And, who was the other actor in contention for the role of Superman? None other than Josh Hartnett!
36 Yes
5 No
Brent Sprecher
3/15/2010
MTV

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51 Comments

FIST !!!!where is the story lol ealier when I first posted this and was the fister the browser was F**ked up and all i saw was superbale
kunyahk - 3/15/2010, 12:39 PM
cool
lc - 3/15/2010, 12:45 PM
Wasn't he offered the role of Batman in that film and Hartnett was offered the of Superman
While Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Paul Walker, & James Franco were all considered for both Batman and Superman
Gotbatman - 3/15/2010, 12:49 PM
Kuny@ No FISTING :(

You know he was up for the role of Dracula (i made that up lol) which leads me to....


GUYS CHECK OUT MY SECOND EVER FAN CAST: TOMBE OF DRACULA IN FAN FIC

:D
teabag - 3/15/2010, 1:12 PM
I will be upset if they don't fix his voice for the sequel. Also, the costume in TDK sucks. They should move to a costume that more closely resembles the one from BB....with the ability to move the head, of course.
BrotherJohnson - 3/15/2010, 1:15 PM
@Gotbatman: Nope. According to the MTV article, Petersen was down to Bale and Hartnett for Superman!
Brent Sprecher - 3/15/2010, 1:17 PM
Josh Hartnett for Supes!
ClintEastwood - 3/15/2010, 1:20 PM
great as bruce wayne...but i cant see him at Clark Kent.
vonstallin - 3/15/2010, 1:22 PM
Josh Harnett for either? No thanks...I don't see it all. What were they thinking?

Ranger14 - 3/15/2010, 1:25 PM
I [frick]ING HATE JOSH HARTNETT!!!
Shaman - 3/15/2010, 1:29 PM
Wow, how crazy would that have been!

@Shaman: What?!? Why? What has he ever done to you? He was good in The Black Dahlia, Sin City and 30 Days of Night.

I would take Hartnett in either role!
Bijous - 3/15/2010, 1:30 PM
SHAMAN @ LMAO!!! : D

Brent @ Very cool find, whoa if he did get SUPES back then, i wonder who would have got to be BATS??

Makes the mind boggle!
LEEE777 - 3/15/2010, 1:31 PM
I think it's pretty cool that WB had the balls to actually plan on making a crossover movie like that, but it's a good thing they didn't or we wouldn't have gotten Nolan's brilliant Batman movies.

Then again, we wouldn't have gotten Singer's "stalker Superman" and "Superkid" either...
Brent Sprecher - 3/15/2010, 1:32 PM
Bijous @ JOSH HARNETT for CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!



: D


Brent @ Good point, we wouldn't of got ROUTHY!!!
LEEE777 - 3/15/2010, 1:32 PM
Josh Hartnett's eyes are too squinty to be a Super hero
Phinehas - 3/15/2010, 1:36 PM
He always looks like he is looking into the sun. in all his movies just random scenes, his eyes are squinting. give the man som sunglasses
EpicMan - 3/15/2010, 1:43 PM
Hey Is the general consensus here on CBM that Captain America should be of American nationallity? just wondering What people thought of Gerard Butler... A Leonitus tone but a little more modern day millitary esk. A little less theatrical. I would be on board.
EpicMan - 3/15/2010, 1:50 PM
He deffinately has the build (in 300) and the acting but he might be a little to Mediteranian... maybe with some hair dye?
EpicMan - 3/15/2010, 1:53 PM
Epicman@ Johnston said they are casting an American for the role and they aren't testing anyone that old, so Butler is pretty much out of the conversation.
Ranger14 - 3/15/2010, 1:55 PM
@Brent: Here is the plot outline I think.. You check out the source..

www.supermansupersite.com/batmanvssuperman.html

The story was to have taken place five years after the death of Bruce Wayne's trusted partner Robin. Wayne has finally retired from the mantle of Batman and has found happiness with his new fiancée Elizabeth. At their wedding, however, Bruce's old demons resurface when a resurrected Joker crashes the ceremony and murders Elizabeth. With newfound rage, Bruce Wayne once again dons the cape and cowl to hunt for the Joker. Once on his manhunt, Batman encounters Superman, who fears that Wayne will cross the line and become a murderer. This sets the two heroes on a violent collision against each other. Unbeknownst to the heroes, their actions are falling in line with a villainous plot by Lex Luthor, who is responsible for the resurrection of the Joker.

SHHH - 3/15/2010, 1:58 PM
Are they doing that because the character has America in his name... which leads me to think of othere characters they have casted; did they stay true to there nationallity's? That would be a good topic of discussion. Should Marvel only cast the nationallity of the character the actor is playing...?
EpicMan - 3/15/2010, 2:03 PM
that would of been the dc film of all time .... .. public enemies cartoon is great ... who knows for the futer ... the worlds finest trailer on you tube is a good thing to look at ..
ngu13 - 3/15/2010, 2:07 PM
Bale is too short, looks nothing like the iconic Superman. Hartnett would need some plastic surgery on his eyes or a lot of caffeine! He looks like he's got his heat vision on all the time.
Jahozafat - 3/15/2010, 2:16 PM
I think Hartnett has always had the visual quality for and early 40's style Superman, where Supe's was always depicted as squinty eyed and not too over the top in terms of size.
TheQuestion - 3/15/2010, 2:29 PM
Sithsidious66 - 3/15/2010, 3:15 PM
Sithsidious66 - 3/15/2010, 3:16 PM
Sithsidious66 - 3/15/2010, 3:17 PM
Patrick Bateman, serial killer, psychopath, as the Man of Steel. Yeah, not seeing it.
InTylerWeTrust - 3/15/2010, 3:18 PM
Brent Sprecher @

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,432553~1~0~itsburdenitspain--its,00.html

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,321972~1~0~holyfranchiseinsidebatman,00.html

:D
Gotbatman - 3/15/2010, 3:21 PM
Sithsidious66 - 3/15/2010, 3:23 PM
bomer or routh...easy pickings...supermen!
Anil Rickly - 3/15/2010, 3:35 PM
A Superman vs Batman movie? lol

Batman would be in a coma before the opening credits finished.

Now Batman vs Spiderman would be good.
JaySin420 - 3/15/2010, 3:41 PM
Harnett's one of the worst actors out. another one who cant carry a film. people are nuts.
InFamouslyCool - 3/15/2010, 4:35 PM
Christian Bale is an amazing actor but nonetheless, he just doesn't fit the role.
supermarioworldE - 3/15/2010, 5:29 PM
He wouldn't be a good Superman at all. GIVE ROUTH ANOTHER SHOT.
BruceWayneNewton - 3/15/2010, 6:29 PM



BruceWayneNewton@: I agree with you. I mean, it's not like Brandon Routh did a bad job with the role. He just needed more lines that's all, a lot more lines!



abw2 - 3/15/2010, 7:39 PM
if bale is too short, why he s batman then, if there s a hero who needs to be tall is batman, superman has power, he doesn't need height, muscles or armor
brazilianbatman - 3/15/2010, 7:45 PM
thanks god, it didn't happen, what [frick] is that, they want to copy freedy versus jason, keep batman alone, no superman
brazilianbatman - 3/15/2010, 7:47 PM
i don't get why people want superman on a batman movie, bu they don't want robin
robin should be in batman 4, batman 3 is soon, bale is not ready to be a mentor yet, but i think after all that is happening to him now, he will mature for the next sequel of the next movie
brazilianbatman - 3/15/2010, 7:49 PM
Wolfgang Petersen is a smart Director.

THE DARK KNIGHT deserved the OSCAR for the best picture.

You remember who won?
OSCURO - 3/15/2010, 9:48 PM
with the Hartnett thing, if they made a new Superman movie now, i think with some time in the gym he could be a realy good pick
l0rdleg0las - 3/16/2010, 1:46 AM
I would have no problem seeing a Hartnett Superman versus a Bale Batman.
Dr. Donald Draper - 3/16/2010, 5:44 AM
If I'm not mistaken, Batman is supposed to be no more than 6 foot tall. Short compared to the Supes. Shorter than Superman, always been that way.
Jahozafat - 3/16/2010, 8:15 AM
Christian bale as superman? Disaster averted.
Starsapphire - 3/16/2010, 4:16 PM
@everybody- I don't know, guys...Supes is gonna be had to cast at all...Super man is six-foot-four to five inches tall, built like one of those weight lifters that doesn't take it too far(to looking grotesque), and has looks that were unbelievably close to Christopher Reeves. He has a face with a presence that's very hard to match.
Brandon Routh had the right voice, but everything else about him was just way-off. He looked ten times more believable as Clark Kent working at the Daily Planet than he actually did as Superman saving people.
r0r5ch4ch84 - 3/16/2010, 11:43 PM
On the subject of a Superman movie...
Here is what needs to be done:

Examples from Bryan Singer's Superman Returns(2006)=

Pros:
Costume= Color scheme for the Superman costume, plus the idea for the raised S, the many mini-S shapes all over and most of the materials used to make said costume.
Supporting cast= Pretty good. Jimmy was played by someone who really gave a good representation of Jimmy and so did the guy who played the boss of the Daily Planet.
Backgrounds/Design of settings= Metropolis was Beautiful, simply perfect. Interesting take on the Fortress of Solitude, too.
Soundtrack= Excellent, no complaints here.

CONS(A.K.A. Do Not Do This):
Costume= 1.The yellow or "gold" S on the back of the cape was missing. Besides that, the cape and neckline was way too close to the wearer's neck! For shame!!!! 2.The way they redesigned the shape of the S inside the diamond was...atrocious, the Superman symbol on his chest was too F*cking small and looked pathetic. The "S" itself looked like a terrible homage to the already terrible Christopher Reeves S, which has already been copied too many F*ckin' times. I don't ever want to see that "S" again. IT- IS- FUGLY!! LET- IT- DIEEEE!!!
3.And the belt line was...the belt line on that costume was way too much of a red flag. You turned the dignified uniform of a caped crusader into an underwear model ad. And that belt was so obviously fake that it hurt my eyes just to look at it. And the belt buckle as another "S", the bottom tip of the diamond pointing down towards Superman's "junk"...Please, no...please, God, no.
4.The boots...what- de- shit? Why were the upper portion of those boots so cool while the soles of the boots were so...not?
Main cast= ....Brandon Routh as Clark Kent/Superman(Kal-el)...Whoever thought that up needs to be hunted down like a gay man by rednecks in Texas. The girl they got to play Lois Lane looked...WAY too young. She looked more like a girl than a woman. And the actor they got to play Alex "Lex" Luthor...even I don't like Lex Luthor...but that was a terrible choice. And yes, I know these other people's names, I'm just not going to say them. Also they used the likeness of the late Marlon Brando...how dare you?
Story= just making another movie about Superman that included the original storyline as the original Richard Donner/Christopher Reeves series was a bloody awful idea, and proved that Hollywood is more desperate than we realize.

And now here are the examples of Richard Donner's Superman movie series(1970's)=

Pros:
Costume= Superman's costume was pretty good for it's time, it mirrored the genuine article nearly-spot on. Right Belt, right belt line, right belt buckle shape. There was an S on the back of the cape, the cut of the cape and collar around the wearer's neck was perfect, and overall it looked pretty regal. And the S on the chest area was the correct size.
Cast overall= pretty sweet, but not because of who the actors were, but because of how they played their parts and tried to stay true to the characters. Even though they made everyone look extremely cheesy.
Soundtrack= Since it's the only kind that makes people really think of Superman, and was very nicely complimented by the most recent movie's version, it's fine.

CONS(A.K.A. stuff that we can only forgive them for because it was the 70's, do not copy):
Costume= The colors were way too light and dorky, and Superman's "S" was "fugly". And the costumes of the Kryptonians were ridiculous.
Everything Else= Aside for the major points of Superman's origin story(why he was on Earth, him getting a job as a reporter), it's like Richard Donner took a backhand to everything that was in the true Superman story. He made it even sillier and cheesier than it already was in the comics.


So, Brothers Nolan and Hollywood...take this advice from the true fans...DON'T TRY TO MAKE IT SOLELY YOUR OWN AND [frick] IT UP LIKE DONNER AND SINGER DID.
r0r5ch4ch84 - 3/17/2010, 12:03 AM
I'm always coming too late to these threads...

@Rorsch- I agree with some of your assessment of the Superman movies, some of your statements were crazy tho. Kevin Spacey was one of the few saving graces for Superman Returns, but your statement about the story was spot on.

As far as the Superman Returns costume, I agree with you on the 'S' they did it up way too much, but I do like that it was raised, and not just laminated on there. I have less of a problem with the neck line of his top than the Deep burgundy of his cape, that wasn't Superman red at all. As for the boots, you hit it right on.

I wasn't crazy about Bosworth as Lois, i don't think anyone was. But Routh wasn't terrible, I mean, for what they wanted to do with the movie he wasn't gawd awful. His mannerisms as Clark were not bad at all, I actually think he did a rather good job imitating Reeve as Clark. I'll go so far as to say his characterization of Reeve's Superman wasn't terrible. I mean people dog him out because he was apparently Emo, but that's the directors fault not his in my opinion.

One thing we have to remember is that Superman movies are always going to be aimed at kids to some extent. But thankfully we live in a Post-Dark Knight world now, and Hollywood has seen that an adult comic book movie can in fact work. What Marvel is doing with the Avengers characters is really good stuff (more or less) and from what little information we've had about Green Lantern I think that will be pretty good too. Superman Returns was a flop mainly because the producers were more interested in making money in a kids market and their own ideas about the character than the canon of the comic. They questioned the audiences ability to relate to Superman, they thought he's too strong, too fast, too Super for us to identify with...it's the same thing you hear non-Superman fan's say all the time. But what Non-Superman fan's fail to see is that he is an icon, he's inspiration, he's a symbol for us to aspire to, to reach to. Superman represents the strength and good of moral values. That's why we have Clark, an everyman who can do Good and stand up for truth and justice. It's cheesy yes, but it's meaningful...people seem to forget that.


I think the Brothers Nolan(i like that btw) are smart enough to realize this. Superman is vastly different than Bats but they'll do a good job. Superman can exist as a champion of good in an adult-focused movie. I for one would be happy to see the moral good he represents challenged by some heavier themes. As long as fatherhood isn't one of them...god that was a terrible idea.
Layperson - 3/18/2010, 8:57 AM
I hate Christian Bale..that s.o.b almost ruined Batman
W3bH3ad - 3/18/2010, 3:23 PM
brandon routh is always the best role for superman
skulldeath - 3/22/2010, 7:25 AM
actually heres who was considered for who
Batman:
Christian Bale
Colin Farrel
James Franco
Superman:
Brandon Routh
Josh Hartnett
Tom Cruise
Paul Walker
Jude Law
SuperManFan01 - 3/26/2010, 6:27 PM

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