Zack Snyder Reveals The Other Justice League Actor Who Could Have Been Batman
Zack Snyder had a clear plan for how his DC Extended Universe movies would proceed. He got things started with Man of Steel, and then there were supposed to be four more movies to follow the trajectory set forth in his Superman origin story. Snyder was able to get an untraditional sequel off the ground with 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which saw Ben Affleck's older, grizzled Batman enter the director's universe. Then came Justice League, which Snyder began but ultimately handed over to replacement director Joss Whedon following a family tragedy that caused him to step down from the project.
It appears as though we'll get some kind of closure on Snyder's ultimate DC plans, as Warner Bros. has given him millions of dollars to complete reported reshoots and new VFX for his version of Justice League, which we should see sometime in 2021 on HBO Max. While Snyder has ideas for where to go for Justice League 2, this will likely be the last time he gets the chance to direct a DC superhero film based on how it looks like films in the DCEU will be less connected to one another going forward. For example, Affleck is out and Robert Pattinson is in as the Caped Crusader, and will lead a new slate of Batman films with no affiliation to the Justice League or anything Affleck did as the character.
Affleck was a great Batman for what Snyder's movies called for, but he almost missed his chance to enter the DCEU. Snyder recently revealed that another actor — who did end up in Justice League as a different character – read for the part of Batman before an official casting was set.
Jason Momoa auditioned for Batman
When Snyder sat down with The Nerd Queens to talk about his career, they broached a variety of subjects. One of the most interesting topics Snyder brought up was how Jason Momoa actually auditioned to play Batman instead of Aquaman. As Snyder explained, Affleck was offered the job and accepted it but "there was a small limbo period" where they viewed other auditions. Momoa's was one of them.
"Ben had said yes, but we were still going back and forth ... We got a casting of [Momoa] reading Batman, and I saw it and said, 'This guy's awesome,'" he said.
It sounds like it took a while to close the deal with Affleck, and in the interim, they just needed some back-ups just in case things didn't work out. Ultimately, Affleck accepted the role, but Momoa made a good enough impression on Snyder to still wind up with a meaty role. Later in the interview, Snyder spoke about how cool Momoa came off during his audition, leading the director to say, "He's Aquaman!"
He may not have gotten the part he auditioned for, but things worked out really well for Momoa. He turned Aquaman from a minor character in the DC universe to a $1 billion-grossing movie, and by all accounts, he's ready to continue playing Arthur Curry for Aquaman 2 and beyond. The hosts of The Nerd Queens even brought this up during their conversation with Snyder, stating that it's a good thing Momoa was cast as the King of Atlantis instead of Batman because "he would have had to cut his hair" for the Dark Knight.
In the end, everything worked out the way it was supposed to. Still, we can't help but wonder what it would be like to see Momoa don the cowl and use an over-the-top, gravelly voice to say, "I am vengeance."