Josh Brolin Looks Back On Being Up For Batman And Reactions To Ben Affleck’s Casting

Before Ben Affleck landed the role of the Dark Knight in 2015’s Batman vs. Superman, a number of actors were rumored for the part. Josh Brolin was reportedly the frontrunner at one point, and the Labor Day star confirmed that he was in talks to play Batman. Now, speaking with the LA Times, Brolin looks back on being considered for the role, as well as the backlash in response to Affleck’s casting. “That whole thing was weird. You read stuff like, “I wish Ben Affleck would die.” It’s Armageddon because he’s going to play Batman. What’s happening? You can’t listen to any of it. It’s like a kid in a cereal aisle screaming, “I want Froot Loops!” You just let him have his tantrum and scream it out.” Truer words have never been spoken. 

Brolin also reiterates his being intrigued by this version of Batman, saying that he liked the idea of an older and wiser Caped Crusader. He then admits that he later lost interest. “What I liked was the logline: “An older, grizzly Batman …” That was interesting to me. I haven’t seen that. They’ve taken the one age and elongated it and franchised it as much as possible. Forget the director, I like the idea of this being a grizzled, wiser mentor type. Then it became not interesting to me. But I’ll still watch it to see how grizzled Affleck turns out.” On a more humorous note, Brolin jokes that he could still play Batman down the line. “Yes! I’m waiting to play the really grizzled old Batman when I’m 70.” The rest of the LA Times’ interview with Brolin can be found in the link above. While I’m excited to see what Affleck will do with the role, there’s no denying that Brolin would have been an interesting choice. 

Batman vs. Superman (not the final title) is scheduled to hit theaters July 17th, 2015. The follow-up to Man of Steel, the next installment in the DC Cinematic Universe stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Diane Lane, and Laurence Fishburne, with Jason Momoa in talks to join. Zack Snyder directs from a script by David S. Goyer.