Josh Hartnett
In talks for Christopher Nolan’s Batman
Josh Hartnett didn’t want to be Batman.
© Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com
Christopher Nolan once wanted to sign Josh Hartnett as Batman. But the actor was not interested.
Josh Hartnett (45) plays for the first time in “Oppenheimer”, directed by star director Christopher Nolan (52). But it could have come sooner to a collaboration. Because Hartnett was in talks as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. The filmmaker revealed that now in the podcast “Happy Sad Confused”.
He therefore met with Hartnett to talk to him about his Batman plans. But the actor, who rose to stardom in 2001’s ‘Pearl Harbour’, wasn’t interested. No test shots were taken either. The role of the dark knight ultimately went to Christian Bale (49).
Josh Hartnett wanted ‘Prestige’ instead of Batman
Instead, Hartnett wanted to be in Presige, another Christopher Nolan project. The magician thriller hit theaters in 2006, a year after Batman Begins, the start of the superhero trilogy. But as is well known, nothing came of Hartnett’s commitment to “Prestige”. The main roles went to Hugh Jackman (54) – and Christian “Batman” Bale.
Cillian Murphy was also a candidate for the role of Batman
In addition to Josh Hartnett, another actor was under discussion as Batman: Cillian Murphy (47). As Murphy and Nolan did in a recent interview revealed with “Entertainment Weekly”., they never considered the actor to be the ideal Batman actor. But they really wanted to work together.
Cillian Murphy ended up playing the villain Scarecrow in Batman Begins. And he went on to become a regular at Christopher Nolan. In “Oppenheimer” he now plays his first leading role for the director. Alongside Josh Hartnett…