Joker Star Was Eyed to Play Batman But the Studio Had a Very Different Idea

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In the 2000s, Joaquin Phoenix, who played the notorious antagonist in the 2019 film “Joker,” was originally Darren Aronofsky’s preferred actor for his own take on Batman. This was well before the creation of the DC Universe. Darren Aronofsky is a renowned director in modern cinema, known for critically-acclaimed films such as “Requiem for a Dream,” “Black Swan,” “Mother!,” and “The Whale.” Despite his reputation, Aronofsky nearly brought his unique interpretation of Batman to the screen.

In an interview for his film “Caught Stealing”, Darren Aronofsky discussed his proposed Batman movie on the “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast with Josh Horowitz. He mentioned that although he never considered it seriously, Aronofsky named Joaquin Phoenix as his preferred choice to play Bruce Wayne. Aronofsky shared that he had presented Phoenix for the role, but Warner Bros. was leaning towards Freddie Prinze Jr., which represented a significant creative contrast at the time. This artistic disagreement eventually caused the project to be scrapped, despite having potential to reinvigorate Batman’s on-screen presence.

What Would Darren Aronofsky & Frank Miller’s Batman Movie Have Looked Like?

When filmmaker Darren Aronofsky was first contacted by Warner Bros., he had already achieved success with several films, yet his cinematic journey was still in its nascent stage. Known for challenging conventional boundaries with movies like “Pi”, “Requiem for a Dream”, and “The Fountain”, Aronofsky’s Batman project would have continued this trend of innovation. Collaborating with DC Comics writer Frank Miller, they planned to adapt Miller’s 1987 “Batman: Year One” comic book for the big screen, even writing a script together.

During an interview for “Happy, Sad, Confused,” Aronofsky disclosed that the Batman concept he and Frank Miller developed was gritty and raw, more akin to a duct tape film. He explained that this version of Batman wasn’t intended to promote Batmobiles. Moreover, he revealed that this movie would have been rated R, which was unusual for superhero media at the time since Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” from 2005 was not R-rated. Miller’s “Year One” story from DC Comics focused on Bruce Wayne’s initial year as the Dark Knight, leading up to his first encounter with newly assigned Gotham City detective Jim Gordon.

Through time, it’s been disclosed that Aronofsky and Miller’s script for Batman deviated significantly from the original comic narrative. In this version, Bruce Wayne would have lost his wealth and ended up homeless, Alfred wouldn’t have served as his mentor, Gillain B. Loeb would have been the main antagonist instead of Joker or Riddler, and Catwoman (Selina Kyle) would have had a drastically altered character. Warner Bros. seemed to be interested in taking a markedly different path, with Freddie Prinze Jr. under consideration for the role; however, some of the brooding tone and realistic depiction may have seeped into Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.

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2025-08-27 14:10