DC and Warner Bros didn't wait long to recast Batman once Christian Bale's tenure as the hero wrapped up in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. Following the release of 2013's Man of Steel, it was announced that what we now know as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was in the works, and eventually Ben Affleck was tapped to play the DC Extended Universe's Caped Crusader. But before Affleck donned the cape and cowl, one of the other actors who was eyed to play Batman was Josh Brolin, and nearly five full years later, Brolin is glad he didn't end up getting the role. In Brolin's words:
We indirectly talked about it, but we never got to the point because I wasn't the guy for him. I'm really glad it didn't happen. I haven't thought twice about it.
Ben Affleck was officially cast as Batman in August of 2013, and a month later, Josh Brolin confirmed that he had been in the running to play Batman, but in the end, director Zack Snyder decided to look elsewhere. But if you thought that Brolin might have been disappointed that he never got to play Gotham City's protector, his comments to Empire reaffirm that isn't the case. A year before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hit theaters, Brolin mentioned that he didn't have any hard feelings towards Ben Affleck for being cast as Batman, and that hasn't changed. Considering how much Affleck has gone through since accepting the Batman mantle, I don't blame Brolin for feeling this way.
While you'll simply imagine what a Josh Brolin-portrayed Batman would look like, as far as the superhero movie genre goes, Brolin is leaving his mark on two fronts (we'd rather pretend that Jonah Hex never happened). In 2014, Brolin took over as Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy, and after cameoing in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he's finally making his full debut as the Mad Titan next week in Avengers: Infinity War. But in addition to playing the MCU's Infinity Stone-obsessed antagonist, Josh Brolin is also bringing Cable to life in Deadpool 2. Brolin is hardly the first actor to play two different comic book characters, but the fact he's playing them around the same time is notable. Batman may be more popular overall than Thanos and Cable, but at least Brolin can lay claim to those characters exclusively on the big screen... well, until the day they're rebooted.
You can see Josh Brolin reprising Thanos when Avengers: Infinity War drops on April 27, and then on May 18, he'll finally debut as Cable in Deadpool 2. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for news about both movies, as well as Batman's cinematic future, and if you're interested in learning what other movies will be released later this year, scan through our 2018 premiere guide.
