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Before Ben Affleck signed on to play Batman in Batman v Superman, director Zack Snyder had his eye on a different actor for the role. He said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he was looking at Belgian actor and director Matthias Schoenaerts for the part.
“I was talking to him a lot about it,” Snyder said (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Schoenaerts has appeared in numerous films, including Red Sparrow and Netflix’s The Old Guard in recent years. He never put on the Batsuit, but Snyder confirmed he created a “bunch of mock-ups” of what Schoenaerts would look like as Batman. This was all happening because Affleck hadn’t yet made a decision, so Snyder was considering other options.
“Ben was on the fence. And I don’t blame him,” Snyder said. “Everyone should be on the fence when you’re asked, ‘Do you want to play Batman?'”
Affleck ultimately signed on to play Batman, and he portrayed the character in Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and Justice League. He’s coming back to wear the cape once again for The Flash alongside Michael Keaton, who will also play Batman. Yes, there will be two Batmans, or Batmen, in the movie.
Also during the podcast, Snyder said Warner Bros. considered putting Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight series in the same universe as Snyder’s Superman movie Man of Steel, which released in 2013, one year after The Dark Knight Rises.
“It was not 100% off the table. We did talk about it a little bit,” Snyder said.
Snyder’s latest film is Army of the Dead for Netflix, which is streaming now. Looking ahead, Snyder does not plan to make another superhero film. “I don’t really have like a burning desire to make another comic book movie, I’ll say,” he told Deadline after the release of the Justice League Snyder Cut earlier this year.
Robert Pattinson is the next actor to play Batman; he’ll appear in the title role in director Matt Reeves’ upcoming movie, The Batman, which releases March 2022.
