Jude Law reveals he turned down huge superhero role
Rising to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jude Law became one of Britain’s most recognisable stars, appearing in everything from Hollywood thrillers to rom-coms. However, he’s now revealed that he could’ve been Batman, but he turned the role down.
In 2003, a Batman film called Flyby was in the works, with J.J. Abrams creating the script. Brett Ratner was employed to direct the movie, but in the end, it fell through. Thus, Law will never truly know if accepting that role could’ve launched him to even greater heights, but he’s done very well for himself regardless.
On The Playlist’s Discourse podcast, Law explained, “There was a process of flirtation going on. And I always resisted because it just felt like [off]. And I know you can say, ‘Well, but you played Yon-Rogg and Dumbledore!’ It just felt like a step too far.” Law went on to star in several franchises, like the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts, so it wasn’t the idea of starring in a long-running series that seemed to put him off.
“It was when Brett Ratner was going to direct, I think. And they didn’t have a script if I remember rightly,” he added. “Did they have a script? I don’t remember reading one. This is a long time ago. They brought me the suit. They thought, ‘This might change your mind.’”
This didn’t help: “I tried it on, and I looked in the mirror and part of me initially was like, ‘Wow, this would be a [good thing],’ and then I just thought, ‘No, you can’t – you can’t do this. You can’t.’”
Something compelled Law not to do it, “I didn’t sell myself to myself. And I stepped away and the film never happened anyway. So maybe it probably wouldn’t have done anything.”
In the end, Law starred in a series of successful productions around this time, such as Closer, The Aviator, Cold Mountain, and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which allowed him to become significantly more well-known in Hollywood.
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