Mark Wahlberg Reveals How Close He Came To Playing Robin In BATMAN FOREVER; Was Eyed For WATCHMEN Role

Mark Wahlberg Reveals How Close He Came To Playing Robin In BATMAN FOREVER; Was Eyed For WATCHMEN Role

Uncharted star Mark Wahlberg has revealed how close he came to playing Dick Grayson/Robin in 1995's Batman Forever and confirms Zack Snyder approached him about taking on a role in his Watchmen movie...

By JoshWilding - Mar 15, 2024 09:03 AM EST
Filed Under: Batman Forever (1995)

Mark Wahlberg has starred in a lot of big movies, but he's yet to suit up as a superhero. At this point, his joining the Marvel or DC Universes seems unlikely, though there was a point early on in his career that The Departed star was on the top of Joel Schumacher's list of candidates to play Batman Forever's Robin.

Asked by Josh Horowitz whether the role was ever really his, the actor said, "No, we met. We met quite a few times. We talked about it [but] I never got the official offer."

As for whether he donned the Boy Wonder's suit for a costume test, Wahlberg responded, "No...no, I'm glad I didn't get that offer." Looking back, it also appears he has no regrets about missing out playing Dick Grayson - which did nothing but hurt Chris O'Donnell's acting career - because he later added, "Uh, well, I could easily...no, why would I ever do that? I don't know, looking back."

It was also put to him that there were rumblings that either Martin Campbell or Zack Snyder wanted the Uncharted star to play Green Lantern. "No. It was for Watchmen," Wahlberg confirmed. "I never got to a place where I had meetings with [Zack]. Chuck Roven and I worked together on a number of occasions...but I never got that offer."

Questioned about which character Snyder wanted him to play, he candidly admitted, "I don't remember and I never saw the film."

We'd bet on it being Nite-Owl, though The Comedian also feels like a good fit for the actor. That movie wasn't exactly a hit either, so having made a couple of lucky escapes over the course of his career, it's no wonder Wahlberg is giving the genre a wide berth!

Walhberg has been doing the rounds to promote his new movie, Arthur the King. We caught up with him earlier this month and asked how preparing for this sort of role differed from the likes of Transformers: The Last Knight and Uncharted

"Yeah, with some of those, you kind of just work out and you’re ready for the explosions and the fight scenes and all that stuff," the actor explained. "To look like an endurance racer and to prepare for that training…I’ve never really done kayaking and cycling and stuff like that. You want to look the part."

"Of course, having the responsibility of getting it right...these are some of the toughest athletes I’ve ever seen. I really wanted to make sure we did Mikael and his team, and Adventure Racers all over the world, justice."

Check out the full interview with Walhberg in the player below.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.
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