A Hobbit Actor Almost Became Zack Snyder's Batman

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In the history of comic book cinema, few roles are coveted as much as playing Batman. Even long before the age of superhero dominance came in the 2000s, Tim Burton's "Batman" was a smash hit that helped make Michael Keaton a superstar. The Caped Crusader is one of the most enduring and beloved characters to ever debut in the pages of a comic book. Naturally, when Zack Snyder was looking to cast a new actor as Batman for what ultimately became "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," Warner Bros. cast a wide net, with quite a few actors in the mix. One of those actors had just come off a major role in the highly successful "Hobbit" franchise.

Richard Armitage played Thorin in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" trilogy. Serving as prequels to "The Lord of the Rings," the trilogy pulled in $2.9 billion collectively at the global box office. While they may not be as beloved as the original films, Armitage was prime to break out as an even bigger star. As such, since he was in his early 40s when Snyder was looking to cast Batman for what, at the time, might have been closer to "Man of Steel 2" than the team-up film we ultimately got. It's perhaps not surprising that his name made it onto the shortlist.

Ben Affleck ended up landing the role of Batman, leading to a very uneven run of movies in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), aka the Snyderverse. For better or worse, Armitage got close but couldn't close the deal. Speaking to Digital Spy in 2018, the actor reflected a bit on his time flirting with becoming the new Batman.

"There was a little flurry once upon a time just after I'd come out of The Hobbit where I auditioned for Batman. It was at the same time that Christian Bale was leaving, there were about five or six actors that were in line for that character, so I went through quite a process with that."

"The sort of darker side of a man, and the desire to right some wrongs," Armitage added. "I think it's really interesting, that character Bruce Wayne."

Whether or not Armitage would have been a good fit for Batman is a question we can debate endlessly, but we'll never know. What we know for sure is that the DCEU was a bit of an uneven enterprise, with Snyder following in the footsteps of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy. All the while, Warner Bros. was rushing to cobble together a DC universe that could compete with Marvel. It all started to fall apart when "Justice League" arrived in 2017, before being put to bed for good with the release of "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" in 2023.

Armitage also wasn't the only actor who was considered for the role before Affleck was cast. In August of 2013, a shortlist of actors who were up for Batman in "Batman v Superman" was reported. That list included Josh Brolin ("No Country for Old Men"), Ryan Gosling ("Drive"), Matthew Goode ("Watchmen"), Joe Manganiello ("True Blood"), and Max Martini ("Revenge"). Snyder, in the end, went another way with it by casting Affleck.

Brolin has spoken a bit about his would-be turn as Batman, but he doesn't seem to have any regrets about now landing the role. As for Armitage, he did flirt with a major comic book movie, playing the relatively minor role of HYDRA agent Heinz Kruger in 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger." He also voiced Wolverine in the podcast series "Wolverine: The Long Night."

The actor has worked steadily over the last decade though, voicing Trevor Belmont in Netflix's "Castlevania" series, as well as having a major role in "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft." Some of his other notable credits include "Hannibal," "Alice Through the Looking Glass," "Ocean's 8," "Obsession," and "Fool Me Once."

You can grab "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" on 4K, Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.