Tom Hanks is one of the most respected actors in history, and there is simply nothing that he can’t do. Hanks has played in massive war films, the Toy Story franchise, and he has even taken on biopics as Mr. Rogers and Walt Disney. He has won multiple Academy Awards and has done more than any actor could ever dream of.
During the 90s, Batman was in the midst of a unique set of films, and we wound up seeing several men take on the Caped Crusader during the era. At one point, Tom Hanks was in consideration to play the iconic superhero! This would have been a far cry from what we actually got.
Let’s head back and see what went down when Tom Hanks was up for the role of Batman!
Hanks Was In Consideration For Batman Forever
Being one of the few men in history that has won multiple Academy Awards for his acting, Tom Hanks has seen and done everything in the entertainment industry aside from playing a massive superhero on the big screen. He did, however, have an opportunity to play the Dark Knight back in the 90s.
It has been reported that when assembling the cast for the film Batman Forever, Tom Hanks was one of the actors in consideration to play Batman. Interestingly, Hanks was not the only premier talent who was in consideration for the role after Michael Keaton’s departure. Actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Alec Baldwin, and Kurt Russell were all in consideration to take on the role.
Batman Forever was set to be the third modern Batman film at the time, and it was going to be the first one without Michael Keaton, who was departing after appearing in Batman and Batman Returns. This meant that there was going to be a huge shift on the big screen for the character and there were going to be a lot of actors who were interested in the role.
Clearly, the studio was interested in getting their hands on someone who had a ton of star power and who had already been the lead in hit films in the past. Casting a superhero role can be tricky, but it appears that Warner Bros. was heading in the right direction.
Eventually, Tom Hanks would have to make a decision on whether or not he wanted to play Batman.’
He Turned Down The Role
When it comes to landing a superhero role on the big screen, you are going to be hard-pressed to find someone who is going to say no to the opportunity. This, however, is precisely what Tom Hanks did back in the 90s when Batman Forever was on the table.
With the incredible amount of success that he has been able to find in his career, it’s clear that Tom Hanks knows a thing or two about taking on the right project at the right time. It has been reported that he would pass on the opportunity to play Batman on the big screen, and we are sure that he did his due diligence for the role.
Taking on a superhero role after someone has already turned in two exceptional performances cannot be the easiest thing for an actor to do, as there is going to be media pressure to live up to or exceed the expectations placed by fans. Tom Hanks was clearly not interested in doing something like this, and he preferred to take on a different project instead.
Because Tom Hanks passed on the role, it opened up the door for someone else to step on in and try their hand at playing Batman.
Val Kilmer Landed Batman
Batman Forever wound up getting the green light once the casting process was all squared away, and at the end of the day, it was Val Kilmer who wound up landing the role of a lifetime.
According to ScreenCrush, Val Kilmer accepted the role of Batman without even reading the script, meaning that he clearly felt some type away about the character and the potential box office returns for the film. This is an incredibly bold move for any actor in the business, but by that point, Kilmer already had a ton of success.
Despite the fact that it has been raked over the coals by critics over the years, Batman Forever was actually a success at the box office and was not nearly as bad as its successor Batman & Robin. These days, most people seem to overlook the film, in general.
Tom Hanks could have done some great work as the Caped Crusader, but given how things went down for Batman Forever, we think he made the right choice here.