9 Actors You Probably Didn’t Know Almost Played Batman

5) Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks has tried his hand – and pretty much succeeded every time – at a multitude of different roles over his distinguished career. Something he has never done, though, is appear in a superhero film – he has featured in a comic book movie, but that’s a different kettle of fish.

He could have done so, however, if he had been chosen for Batman in Batman Forever. He was allegedly on a short list of actors to take over from Keaton that included Daniel Day-Lewis, Ethan Hawke and Baldwins Alec and William. Hanks reportedly turned down the role, and given how lacklustre Batman Forever turned out to be, he probably made the right choice.

4) Clint Eastwood

If Tom Hanks is a surprising choice for Batman, then how about Clint Eastwood? The western icon is not the first person you would think of as a good fit for the role, but actually, he would be brilliant. You can easily imagine him asking the punks of Gotham if they feel lucky, can’t you?

According to movie legend, after Batman & Robin sunk without a trace, director Joel Schumacher tried to save the franchise by going in a completely different direction. He pitched the idea to Warner Bros. of adapting the classic graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, featuring an older Batman coming out of retirement. The person deemed to fit this part best was Eastwood. However, he was never asked to play the role as the project quickly stalled.

Since then, fans have called for him to play another version of an older Batman in a Batman Beyond movie. Sadly, the 86-year-old hasn’t acted for a while. But, hey, maybe that could be the role to coax him out of retirement?