Matt Damon Auditioned Twice To Play A DC Superhero
Matt Damon has tried to enter the DC universe.
This article is more than 2 years old
It can take a lot to get into the superhero genre. It seems like everyone is trying to get into the highly profitable movies from DC and Marvel right now. It turns out Matt Damon had auditioned twice to play Robin in two separate DC movies before the trend took over Hollywood.
Matt Damon spoke about the experience with Josh Horowitz from the Happy Sad Confused podcast, which was posted yesterday (July 29). The actor revealed that he tried to go for Robin in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman and in 1995 for Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever. Damon and Horowitz also talked about Damon’s latest movie Stillwater and rejecting proposals for Avatar and The Dark Knight.
The trial for the 1989 Batman with Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Jack Nicholson (The Shining) scrapped the Robin role. That did not stop a meeting between Matt Damon and the filmmakers. As a teenager, he read from a script from another movie as the take on the Dark Knight was so secretive, he did not get to see what was written for the superhero flick.
Fast forward to the ’90s; Matt Damon made it onto the screen tests for Batman Forever. He was used as a pawn by the studio as the role was already given to Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles), who wanted more money. In the negotiations, Warner Bros. brought in The Martian actor and one other person as a threat to replace O’Donnell. The result ended with him keeping the part and Damon out of yet another opportunity with DC.
Getting turned down by Warner Bros. and DC was not all that bad. Matt Damon would win an Academy Award with another nomination on top of that with his and Ben Affleck’s 1997 classic Good Will Hunting. That launched their careers. He would go off to be nominated for 2016’s Manchester by the Sea, 2015’s The Martian, and 2009’s Invictus. Affleck, Damon’s long-time friend, and collaborator will go off to have his own success with Best Picture winner Argo and David Fincher’s Gone Girl.
Missing out on superhero action did not stop Matt Damon from being an action star either. In 2002 he would lead The Bourne Identity. The success would launch sequels The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Jason Bourne.
This weekend is a big one for Matt Damon as his latest movie, Stillwater, was released. It is directed by Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) and written by McCarthy, Marcus Hinchey (Come Sunday), and Thomas Bidegain (The Sisters Brothers). His co-stars are Camille Cottin (Killing Eve), Abigail Breslin (Zombieland: Double Tap), and Deanna Dunagan (The Visit).
The next major release for Matt Damon is coming on October 15 with The Last Duel by director Ridley Scott. Damon will be writing it with Nicole Holofcener (Parks and Recreation) and long-time collaborator Ben Affleck. Damon and Affleck will be starring in the film with Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Marton Csokas (Into the Badlands), Harriet Walter (Killing Eve), Zeljko Ivanek (The Courier), and Alex Lawther (The End of the F***ing World).
