Steve Carell Tried To Play A Batman Villain Before His Exit From The Office

When Steve Carell left "The Office" in 2011, the show immediately struggled to maintain its high quality in the wake of losing the man who so memorably portrayed Michael Scott. The actor departed at the end of season 7, but by that point, he'd established himself as a bonafide movie star, having starred in the 2005's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" before making some of his biggest cinematic hits, from 2008's "Get Smart" to 2010's "Despicable Me." But during that time, it seems the actor also had ambitions to break away from comedy and family-friendly fare by playing Batman's most infamous rogue.

According to Vulture, Carell was rumored to be in the running for the part of The Joker in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel "The Dark Knight." Though it was never confirmed that the actor was actually being considered for the role, back in 2005, Carell did tell Total Film magazine (via Digital Spy), "I would love to play the role. If it's either Sean Penn or me in line, then I want a showdown to prove which one of us is the better actor. We'd just have to oil up and wrestle for it." At the time, Paul Bettany, Mark Hamill and Lachy Hulme were all reportedly in consideration for the role that ultimately went to Heath Ledger. Whether Carell was being entirely serious when said he was interested remains unclear, but in the years since he left "The Office," he's taken every opportunity to demonstrate his dramatic chops in movies such as "Beautiful Boy" and "Foxcatcher," so it wouldn't be entirely unbelievable that he envisioned himself as being a part of Nolan's grounded Batman universe back in 2005.

Of course, at that time, Carell was still building his profile and would go on to star in multiple comedy hits before he branched out into more serious roles. Still, it is interesting to think about how his career, and "The Dark Knight," would have been different had he actually been cast as Nolan's Clown Prince of Crime.

"The Dark Knight," which proved too good to be ignored at the box office, arrived in 2008, just as "The Office" was hitting its stride after some rocky initial seasons. At the same time, Steve Carell was riding a career high. Prior to 2005, he had mostly played supporting roles in comedies such as "Bruce Almighty" and "Anchorman," alongside contributing to segments on "The Daily Show." But "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" cemented his star status, which was only bolstered by his lead role on "The Office" (which launched the same year).

Also released in 2005: "Batman Begins." Christopher Nolan's hugely popular reboot of the Batman franchise revitalized the Caped Crusader for a new generation and, as such, guaranteed a sequel would be forthcoming. The following year, Nolan was starting to think about casting that follow-up, and in August of 2006, it was announced that Heath Ledger had landed the role of The Joker in what would eventually become "The Dark Knight." Though the news was initially met with trepidation among fans and the press, Ledger, who used his own self-doubt to fuel his acting, proved to be an inspired choice, ultimately winning a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime — a depiction that simultaneously became a pop cultural phenomenon that still produces memes to this day.

Even "The Office" paid homage to Ledger's performance and its impact on the culture during the cold open for the season 5 episode "Employee Transfer," wherein Dwight (Rainn Wilson), Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), and Creed (Creed Bratton) all dress as The Joker for Halloween. The episode aired in 2008, the same year "The Dark Knight" debuted, and as such was more of an homage to the popularity of the movie rather than a nod to Carell's original desire to play the character.

As hard as it is to say what might have been, Steve Carell as The Joker would have been a really interesting move for the actor and Christopher Nolan to make. Firstly, it would have given Carell a chance to showcase an entirely different side of himself long before he caught everyone off-guard with his unreasonably creepy performance as millionaire murderer John Eleuthère du Pont in 2014's "Foxcatcher." But Carell as The Joker would surely have made "The Dark Knight" an entirely different film, considering how so much of the movie is defined by Heath Ledger's performance.

When "The Dark Knight" was being developed, initial concept art emerged that depicted a version of the Batman rogue that was even more terrifying than what we eventually saw in Ledger's performance. The ghostly, scarred face shown in the art suggested Nolan wasn't against going full-horror with Batman a full 15 years before "Matt Reeves" made the Gotham version of David Fincher's "Seven" with 2022's "The Batman." In a universe where Carell was actually in the running for the role, would Nolan have stuck more closely to this horror-tinged Joker, burying the actor beneath enough makeup to make Colin Farrell's transformation for "The Penguin" look as simple as donning a fake mustache and glasses? It's obviously impossible to say, but again, considering the aforementioned creepiness of Carell's "Foxcatcher" performance, I've gotta say I wouldn't be all that against seeing the man as a truly dark Joker.

There's also the undeniable comedic talents of the man, which would have informed a huge part of his portrayal of Batman's greatest foe. We know Carell would have had no problem with that aspect of the character, but it would have been fascinating to see how he might've taken all the clownish, Michael Scott likability out of his comedy in order to give The Joker the sinister edge he demands. Of course, the whole thing could have also been a disaster. Alas, we never found out what a Steve Carell Joker might look like, and unless James Gunn recruits the man for his burgeoning DC Universe, it's likely to stay that way.