Considering how Batman has been continually recast since first appearing on the silver screen in 1943, it’s fair to say that not everybody agrees on which actor portrayed the Dark Knight best. In all honesty, I’m not sure if I can name one in particular any longer because most have brought something special to the role. Though if I were asked point blank, I’d say Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck are among my favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I dig Adam West very much, but his interpretation is sort of in a category of its own.
However, there’s one guy who probably doesn’t top many lists, and that’s George Clooney. It’s kind of odd saying that because of how many great successes he’s enjoyed during his storied career, but everybody has made their own missteps. His, of course, was 1997’s Batman & Robin.
Still, the industry veteran is part of a very exclusive club. As such, he’s going to be among the first questioned whenever it comes time to cast a new Caped Crusader. Speaking of which, Entertainment Tonight asked Clooney who he’d like to see don cape and cowl now that the role is currently vacant, and here’s what he had to say:
“I screwed it up so badly, I’m not allowed to weigh in on any of those subject matters anymore.”
Although it’s amusing to see how George is courageous enough to have fun at his own expense, I maintain my position that he could’ve been a good Batman had he not been cast in the wrong movie. And it wasn’t his fault alone that the flick bombed, nor was it necessarily director Joel Schumacher’s. Following the success of Batman Forever, the studio wanted to go more in the kid-friendly direction, so there’s a lot of blame to be spread around in this cautionary tale of what happens when executives think they know what’s best for a character.
Hopefully it won’t be much longer before Matt Reeves chooses who’ll be his Batman, but we invite you to voice your opinion in the comments section below until then. Are you backing Robert Pattinson? Or maybe you’re in support of Armie Hammer? Feel free to let us know!