Christian Bale’s performance as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is considered by fans to be one of the best, but as it happens with most films, many other actors were considered for the role. Batman has gone through various big screen adaptations since the 1960s, and one of the most memorable ones is Nolan’s version in what’s known as the Dark Knight trilogy.

Starting in 2005 with Batman Begins, Nolan brought a darker and more grounded version of Gotham City and the Caped Crusader, with Christian Bale as the new Bruce Wayne. The film was very well received by critics and viewers, and made way for two sequels: The Dark Knight in 2008, and The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. The trilogy has a place in the hearts of Batman fans, as does Bale’s performance, but the reaction to the films might have been very different had another actor played the character.

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Though Christian Bale was one of the final names on the list to play Bruce Wayne, there were other actors in consideration, among those one that joined Nolan’s trilogy in the sequel as an unforgettable character.

Dark Knight: Heath Ledger Was Considered To Play Batman

The Joker points at Batman in an interrogation room in The Dark Knight.

When Batman Begins was in its early stages of development, Heath Ledger was considered for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, but both him and Nolan agreed he was not the right one for it, though he ended up joining the trilogy as the Joker in The Dark Knight. The casting process continued, and only a few days before the role was officially cast, eight actors were asked to audition: Christian Bale, Joshua Jackson, Eion Bailey, Hugh Dancy, Billy Crudup, Cillian Murphy, Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Boreanaz, and David Duchovny, who was considered for it when Batman & Robin was looking for a new Bruce Wayne.

Though Bale won the part, Nolan liked Cillian Murphy’s audition so much that he gave him the role of Jonathan Crane a.k.a. Scarecrow, who appeared in all Dark Knight films. Nolan shared that Bale had the balance of darkness and light they were looking for, and writer David S. Goyer said that, while some actors could only play a great Bruce or a great Batman, Bale could play both. Though Bale’s career got its big break thanks to his performance in American Psycho, the Dark Knight trilogy gave him an even bigger boost, and he has moved on to different genres and types of characters since he left Batman behind. It’s impossible to tell if any of those actors would have played a better Batman than Christian Bale, and how they would have looked as the Caped Crusader will only live in the imagination of fans.

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