Zack Snyder has revealed his backup choice to play Batman in the DC Extended Universe, had Ben Affleck passed on the role in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
"Matthias Schoenaerts," said Snyder, speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "I was talking to him a lot about it. He never got in the suit, but I did do a bunch of mock-ups of him because Ben was on the fence. And I don't blame him. Everyone should be on the fence when you're asked, 'Do you want to play Batman?'"
A Belgium-born actor, Schoenaerts is perhaps best known for his role as Booker, the not-so-trustworthy member of Andy's (Charlize Theron) team of immortal warriors in Netflix and Gina Prince-Bythewood's 2020 comic book movie The Old Guard. He has also earned critical acclaim for his performances in such dramas as Rust and Bone (2012), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) and The Mustang (2019), in addition to playing Jennifer Lawrence's deceitful onscreen uncle in the 2018 spy thriller Red Sparrow.
Like Affleck, Snyder admitted Schoenaerts had concerns about playing Bruce Wayne in Batman v Superman. In the latter's case, however, he worried he was too young to portray the movie's version of the Caped Crusader, who's supposed to be in his mid-40s (whereas Schoenaerts was still in his 30s at the time). In the end, Affleck boarded the film and went on to reprise his role in the post-credits scene for 2016's Suicide Squad, prior to playing Batman again in both cuts of the DCEU's Justice League. He will portray the character one last time in 2022's The Flash movie.
Following the release of his Justice League cut on HBO Max, Snyder plans to leave the DCEU in his rearview mirror and focus on other projects, including a potential sequel to his zombie action/horror movie Army of the Dead. The director has similarly played down the idea of Warner Bros. continuing his vision for its shared DC universe, calling the studio "aggressively 'anti-Snyder'" in a previous interview. "What can I say? Clearly, they're not interested in my take," he added.
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film is now streaming on HBO Max
Source: Happy Sad Confused, via Screen Rant