Josh Brolin Would Have Played A 'More Raspy' Batman If He Hadn’t Lost The Role

Following Christopher Nolan's trilogy of Batman films, Warner Bros. teamed up with Zack Snyder to take the masked vigilante brand in a new direction.

It resulted in the development of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which starred Ben Affleck as the new human caped crusader. The actor later returned for "Justice League," reshoots for Zack Snyder's "Justice League," and will also reprise his role as Bruce Wayne in 2023's "The Flash."

However, all of this could have been a different tale, given that another Hollywood legend had been in the running for the part of Batman. At the time, actor Josh Brolin expressed strong interest in playing the millionaire playboy/crime fighter, but things did not work out. Brolin has now reminisced about the events that led to his missing out on the opportunity.

Brolin, a well-known talented actor in his own right, recently spoke with the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast about how he lost out on the role despite having shown interest in joining the franchise. The 54-year-old actor stated that he was originally in talks with director Snyder to put on the cowl before the filmmaker picked Affleck for the part in 2016's" Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."

He explained: "That was interesting to me. That was (Snyder's) decision — that wasn't my decision. That was his decision.

Brolin then opened up on why he was drawn to the character in the first place. Unlike other actors who may have sought the job for fame or money, the Hollywood star admitted that he wanted the part because he enjoyed the risk that came with it.

"Something that is set up to not work at all, or to work flyingly — I like those odds," he said. "I like playing with those odds. I'm like, 'Am I the guy who's gonna make it all fail?'"

Although Brolin was not cast in the part, he understood the sort of Batman he would have played if he had been given the opportunity. He hinted that his own character would have spoken more gruffly and had an older demeanor than Affleck's.

"It would have been the older, more raspy, for lack of a better word," he revealed on the podcast. "Honestly, that would have been a fun deal, and maybe I'll do it when I'm 80."

Brolin also shared his thoughts on Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin," in which George Clooney played Wayne, and Chris O'Donnell played his sidekick Robin/Dick Grayson. Schumacher's version was critically panned for its sexual overtones and was a box-office bomb when it debuted in 1997.

Given Brolin's admission that his depiction of Batman would have played considerably more into the character's aging element in "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice," one can assume that this was one of the reasons he got dropped.

Both Affleck, who was subsequently hired as Batman, and Henry Cavill, who played the Kryptonian, were at least five years younger than Brolin at the time of casting. Similarly, Gal Gadot, Jason Mamoa, and the rest of the Justice League spinoff cast were all younger than Brolin. This might imply that the showrunners were solely interested in casting performers that were not too advanced in age.

While this was merely a rumor that was never confirmed by Snyder, it would be intriguing to see how the film and character fared had Brolin secured the role.

After being passed up for the Batman role, Brolin got a gig with DC's archrivals, Marvel. The actor appeared in the critically praised role of Thanos, The Mad Titan, who was on a quest to remake the universe by murdering half of all living creatures.

Brolin's subtle steely charm and strong screen presence in "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers: Endgame" eventually seemed to have earned him more praises than he could have gotten from playing Batman.

However, his statements on the podcast seemed to imply that Brolin was still keeping the door open for a future part in another Batman film. Such a scenario is not ruled out, as DC has demonstrated with the upcoming "The Flash" film that they have no problem portraying various Batman characters in a movie.