Leonardo DiCaprio: The Superhero Roles That Could Have Been—And Why He Said No
Leonardo DiCaprio Could Have Been a Superhero—Here’s Why He Turned Down Batman and Spider-Man (Photo Credit – Facebook)

Hollywood’s A-list actor Leonardo DiCaprio has played diversified roles in films ranging from intense dramas like The Revenant and Shutter Islands to his iconic works like Titanic and Inception. Despite his renowned reputation as one of the industry’s most talented actors, DiCaprio never appeared in any DC or Marvel universes, frequently featuring iconic stars like Gal Gadot, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Christian Bale. While he may have rejected several roles in his pursuit of delivering exceptional work, he also has turned down some iconic roles, including a superhero role.

At 19, DiCaprio earned his nomination for an Oscar for his performance in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. After this, he was offered several roles, including Richard Grayson/Robin in 1995 DC and Batman Forever. Unfortunately, the Titanic actor turned down the role.

DiCaprio met the film’s director, Joel Schumacher; however, they never took the role. Instead, he chose to work on low-budget films like The Basketball Diaries and Total Eclipse. In a throwback interview with ShortList, DiCaprio admitted that he was not ready to play a superhero role then. He said, “I never screen-tested. I had a meeting with Joel Schumacher. It was just one meeting, and I didn’t end up doing it. […] I don’t think I did [want the role], no. I recall that I took the meeting but didn’t want to play the role. Joel Schumacher is a very talented director, but I don’t think I was ready for anything like that.”

In Batman Forever, the role of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, was played by Val Kilmer, who took over from Michael Keaton. The movie grossed $336 million at the box office. The role DiCaprio was offered went to Chris O’Donnell.

Not only this, but he was later again approached for another superhero role, Spider-Man. However, DiCaprio recommended his friend Tobey Maguire for the role. In the same interview, he was asked why he rejected the Spider-Man role, too, and the actor shared that it was the same reason as during Batman Forever.

He said, “That [Spider-Man] was another one of those situations, similar to Robin, where I didn’t feel ready to put on that suit yet. They got in touch with me. […] You never know. You never know. They [superhero movies] are getting better and better as far as complex characters in these movies. I haven’t yet. But no, I don’t rule out anything.”

Furthermore, DiCaprio even turned down a role in Star Wards and The Matrix.

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