Joaquin Phoenix could’ve been Batman instead of Joker

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After the complete failure of BATMAN & ROBIN in 1997, Warner Bros. was desperate to find a way to keep the character relevant and fresh. Director Joel Schumacher – who was actually known for darker fare like FLATLINERS and A TIME TO KILL before B&R – pitched a YEAR ONE story about the origins of Batman, going darker and grittier with it. Warners agreed…just not with Schumacher at the helm.

So, long story short (which includes Howard Stern at one point being considered to play Scarecrow) Warner decided in the early 2000's to take a chance on young up-and-coming director, Darren Aronofsky. At this point, Aronofsky had only directed the trippy PI and grim REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (starring another future Joker, Jared Leto). His pitch was to also do YEAR ONE, but go really grungy and gritty with it – more like a 70's crime thriller ala FRENCH CONNECTION, TAXI DRIVER, or DEATH WISH than a classic superhero film. He even enlisted BATMAN: YEAR ONE comic writer Frank Miller (who also wrote classic THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS) to co-write the screenplay with him.

And, he wanted none other than a young Joaquin Phoenix to play the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. However, Warner had different plans, as Aronofsky explains in an interview with Empire magazine recalling his experience on the doomed film:

The studio wanted Freddie Prinze Jr and I wanted Joaquin Phoenix…I remember thinking, 'Uh oh, we're making two different films here.' That's a true story. It was a different time. The Batman I wrote was definitely a way different type of take than they ended up making.

Of course, Joaquin Phoenix recently played Batman's nemesis The Joker to great acclaim and success (including a Best Actor Oscar) in last years' blockbuster JOKER film.

Eventually Aronofsky left the project, and it was given instead to MEMENTO director Christopher Nolan, who made the "gritty YEAR ONE" Batman film, but with a more epic scope than Aronofsky envisioned. For instance, there was no "Tumbler" in Aronofksy's Batman film, and the Batmobile instead was just a slightly converted muscle car (something that Matt Reeves seems to be doing in the umpteenth Batman reboot with Robert Pattinson).

So what do you guys think? Would you have preferred Phoenix over Bale as the Dark Knight? Either way, sound off below!