Few movie stars are as candid about regretting a role as George Clooney is when it comes to the infamous campy caper that is Batman & Robin -- a movie he has apologized for and poked fun at time and time again. Then again, few actors have been asked to don rubber nipples. The reason I bring this up is because, the Oceans franchise star was joined by series director Steven Soderbergh to talk about one of their best movies, and while discussing the beloved heist franchise they brought up the Hollywood A-listers who turned the film down. Bringing this back around to Batman: Clooney vicariously compared Johnny Depp and others in the discussion turning the gig down to his time as the Caped Crusader.
According to Soderbergh and Clooney, the production process for what is now considered one of the best heist films wasn't entirely trouble-free. The pair revealed to TCM host Ben Mankiewicz (via EW) that some major Hollywood heavy hitters were approached for the part of Linus but passed -- somewhat aggressively -- before Matt Damon was ultimately cast. The big revelation here was that both Johnny Depp and Mark Wahlberg were some of the actors who turned the part down. The Up in the Air star comedically added that those stars regret turning the project down about as much as he regrets agreeing to wear the Dark Knight cowl. He said:
Some very famous people told us to fuck right off… There were others. Oh, they regret it now. I regret doing fucking Batman.
It’s always fun to imagine what could have been when it comes to Hollywood casting, but it is almost impossible to imagine anyone else as the characters who make up Danny Ocean's team, which included the likes of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Don Cheadle. And sure, I could imagine someone else in the part of Batman in Joel Schumacher’s love letter to camp, but at this point, I wouldn’t want to. Clooney is perfect. In recent years, he has even acknowledged that the critical and financial bomb indirectly made him a movie star.
Mankiewicz asked the pair about the prospect of revisiting the characters from the Oceans franchise, which premiered its third film, Ocean's Thirteen, 15 years ago. Soderbergh acknowledged that there had been numerous discussions about it, and he cited the all-female-led Ocean's Eight as one of the outcomes of those talks. Of course, Clooney pointed out it might be hard for his character to return, pointing to the fact that Sandra Bullock's Debbie Ocean visits her brother's grave more than once during the film. He joked:
They [Ocean’s 8 Filmmakers] killed me, by the way.
The TCM interview is delightful and definitely worth watching. You can check out the video below to enjoy Clooney's charming and funny responses.
Clooney and Soderbergh have enjoyed a rich partnership over the years, beginning with 1998’s Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight, but they also have stayed busy with their own projects. The director recently finished up the story he started about male dancers in Magic Mike’s Last Dance. As for The Ides of March actor, he is set to reteam with fellow Oceans star Brad Pitt in Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts' upcoming thriller, Wolfs. Sadly, I don't think he'll be making his return as the campiest of the Batman's based on these comments, but there's always something to look forward to from Clooney.
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