The late, great Robin Williams was at one point offered both the Joker and Riddler roles, but circumstances prevented him from playing them. As everyone sadly knows, Williams passed away in 2014, leaving behind a life and legacy full of happiness and joy for just about everyone who knew him, as it was rare anyone of his Hollywood colleagues had an unkind word to say. While Williams clearly had his own mental health issues, that didn't stop him from spending decades entertaining millions.
One thing Williams never did get a chance to do is star in a superhero blockbuster. That's not for lack of wanting to either, as Williams was a noted comic book reader, and a big fan of Batman in particular. Unfortunately, the stars just never seemed to align for such a role, although Williams likely would've knocked it out of the park, as despite his reputation for comedy, he also flexed great dramatic acting muscles on multiple occasions.
As it happens, Williams nearly played two iconic Gotham City villains, and squared off with Batman on the big screen. That would've no doubt been a dream come true for the legendary performer, but here's why he didn't end up playing either role.
Robin Williams Almost Played Joker & Riddler (Why He Didn't)
Even before Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie had really gotten moving, Warner Bros. had a clear top choice to play The Joker, Jack Nicholson. However, Nicholson wasn't thrilled about the project, and turned it down. Meanwhile, Robin Williams had been actively campaigning for the Joker role, and was eventually offered the part. The problem is, Warner Bros. basically just made the offer to bait Nicholson into signing on, and sure enough, after Nicholson was told Williams would take the role if he didn't, he relented and took the gig.
Williams was understandably furious about Warner Bros.' duplicity, and demanded an apology from the studio before he would agree to work with them again. When it came time to make Batman Forever, Williams was offered the role of The Riddler. At that point, reports differ as to what happened. Some say Williams turned them down due to still being sore about his Joker treatment, but statements made by Williams during a later interview with Empire Magazine make it pretty clear that he felt he was robbed of the Riddler role too, and that it was snatched away from him and given to Jim Carrey, who other accounts say was the personal top choice of director Joel Schumacher. It's truly sad that a creative genius like Williams was never given the opportunity to play a comic book supervillain, as it probably wouldn't been amazing.