A Big Christopher Nolan Movie Twist Was (Almost) Spoiled By Casting News
The twist is pretty well known by now, but back in 2005, it was a big surprise. In Christopher Nolan's superhero film "Batman Begins," audiences got to see a new take on the DC Comics hero's origin story, filtered through a modern lens. Nolan was concerned about keeping Batman relatively grounded and adult, tracing what might have to happen in a human's life that he would choose to become Batman.
Part of Batman's origin involved Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) traveling the world looking for meaning. His travels bring him into a prison in Bhutan where he's approached by a dashing European man in a suit. This is Henri Ducard, a man who leads Bruce to a crimefighting kung-fu sect called the League of Shadows. The League, Ducard explains, is overseen by a mysterious monk named Ra's al Ghul, and the League aims to murder all the world's criminals. Bruce Wayne is hellbent on revenge for the murder of his parents, but draws the line at the League's draconian measures. He leaves the League's temple, burning it to the ground, but saving Ducard.
The many, many fans of "Batman Begins" will be able to tell you about the twist: Ducard actually was Ra's al Ghul the entire time, and thanks to Bruce Wayne's actions, the League is poised to carry out a plot to destroy Gotham City.
The revelation that Liam Neeson was playing Ra's al Ghul was actually accidentally leaked in February of 2004, when Variety printed a casting announcement. Warner Bros. must have spotted the spoiler, though, and Variety hastily retracted their statement. But the bat was out of the bag. The Variety articles are no longer available online, but the text of the announcement was preserved on IMDb.
Variety announced who Liam Neeson was playing in Batman Begins a year and a half early
The Variety announcement, of course, came very early in the production of "Batman Begins," back when it was still going to be called "Batman: Intimidation." There were reports back in 2004 that confirmed this title, which was seemingly leaked by Ain't It Cool News way back in 2003. Most of the cast of the new Batman film had already been settled by then, as seen in the announcement below, but Variety didn't seem to know that Neeson's role as Ra's al Ghul was meant to be a surprise. As it appeared:
"Irish actor Liam Neeson will join the cast of the new Batman movie ... as the caped crusader's nemesis. The 'Love, Actually' star has signed a deal to play villain Ra's Al Ghul, an international terrorist bent on destroying Gotham City, in 'Batman: Intimidation.' Another addition to the cast — which already boasts the talents of Christian Bale, Katie Holmes and Sir Michael Caine – is 'Shawshank Redemption' veteran Morgan Freeman. He will play Lucius Fox, 'a respected businessman and the Chief Executive Officer of billionaire Bruce Wayne's Wayne Enterprises, based in Gotham City.' The movie is being directed by 'Memento' filmmaker Christopher Nolan."
According to the We Minored in Film website, Variety's retraction, which ran the following day, corrected the announcement to read that Neeson would be playing Ducard, a mentor to Batman, while actor Ken Watanabe would be announced as the actor playing Ra's al Ghul five days later. Watanabe is in "Batman Begins," but he plays a decoy for Ra's al Ghul. The twist, then, was now officially preserved. And if there hadn't been a twist, it would have looked like Variety made a run-of-the-mill mistake.