When filmmaker Matt Reeves was casting The Batman's Bruce Wayne, the final two contenders were Nicholas Hoult and Robert Pattinson. The latter ultimately landed the role, though Hoult got a second chance in the DCU as Lex Luthor (after missing out on Superman).
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jack O'Connell were among those who reportedly auditioned at one time or another, and we now know of another actor who was considered to don the Dark Knight's cape and cowl.
In an interview with Josh Horowitz, Game of Thrones star Kit Harington confirmed that he had an early meeting about playing The Batman's title character before the role ultimately went to Pattinson.
"I think I met someone early on, but I think it was like, when I heard it was Robert Pattinson, I was like, 'Yeah, of course. That’s who you should go [with],'" the British actor recalled, admitting he wasn't aware at the time that he was being eyed for Batman.
"No, I genuinely—I can’t. I feel like I’m trying to wrap my brain [around it]," Harington noted. "There was some meeting in L.A. at some point. You have a lot of meetings about a lot of things."
"Maybe this is why I didn’t get the job," he joked. "What’s this job for again? It’s what? He lost his parents? That’s horrible. That’s a lot of trauma. God, that sounds like a great idea."
Harington was largely wasted in the MCU after playing Dane Whitman in Eternals. Had the 2021 movie been a box office hit, then we'd have likely seen him become Black Knight by now, but as things stand, there's nothing to suggest he'll return to that world.
Still, there's another Batman that's up for grabs: the Caped Crusader we'll see in DC Studios' The Brave and the Bold (if and when the movie happens). In the meantime, the actor is keeping busy, playing Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
"Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally," DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn previously said. "And it’s not — I’m not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right, because he’s incredibly important to DC, as is Wonder Woman."
"Batman has to have a reason for existing, right? So Batman can’t just be 'Oh, we’re making a Batman movie because Batman’s the biggest character in all of Warner Bros.,' which he is," he continued. "But because there’s a need for him in the DCU and a need that he’s not exactly the same as Matt’s Batman. But yet he’s not a campy Batman. I’m not interested in a funny, campy Batman, really."
You can watch the full interview with Harington in the player below.