The closest Leonardo DiCaprio came to a superhero movie: “He had a lot of great ideas”
Leonardo DiCaprio has always marketed himself as a super serious actor, only working with the most powerful men in the business and aligning himself with projects that will showcase the most extreme depths of his talents.
Whether it be tussling with grizzly bears or using a flame thrower to kill Nazi’s, DiCaprio seems to only star in some of the most emotionally extreme projects being committed to celluloid, making a career out of being a repeat offender within the weird world of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese.
From the very beginning of his Hollywood journey, he stuck out among other child actors due to his intense dedication and passion for cinema, describing niche influences that most people his age would have never heard of, proving himself as a true cinema nerd from day dot.
As a result, he’s ended up with a filmography that really shows off this all-in commitment, working alongside countless Hollywood heavyweights and proving his fondness for a very specific lane of storytelling. While some actors are happy to mix it up and dip into all sorts of genres – with the likes of Mark Ruffalo and Matthew McConaughey turning their hands to rom-coms, thrillers, animations and sci-fi dramas – DiCaprio could only wish for that kind of versatility. Over the years, he’s carefully pitched himself as a deadly serious actor, one who could never be seen mucking about in something light-hearted, instead stringing the same feather to his bow time and time again.
But while his co-stars and peers have done almost everything on screen, DiCaprio couldn’t be more against this, instead working with the same three people over and over again when he could be branching out and trying something a little bit different.
However, the actor once came close to making a bit of change, entertaining the idea of starring in a superhero film and taking on an iconic comic-book villain that could have showcased a very different side to his creative identity.
While some might know him for creating the infamous Snyder cut, which has now become something of a euphemism in the film industry for directors who refuse to kill their darling, Zack Snyder is also known for directing many spinoff superhero stories and sequels likes Batman V Superman and Justice League. But while he might attract many stars towards his fantastical worlds, DiCaprio was not one who could be tempted to join the dark side of the industry.
When asked whether DiCaprio was intrigued by the idea of starring in a superhero project, the director said, “I think so. He had a lot of great ideas actually, just in the meeting. I think in the end, he was like ‘Eh, I don’t know.’ But he was really smart about the material and really smart about the character. He was the one that mentioned to me the idea about Superman fighting the Justice League at some point. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ He is a [comic guy]. I was like, ‘I’m going to put that over there.’”
While it might feel beyond our comprehension to imagine someone like DiCaprio scarpering around Gotham city in a cape and fighting other mysteriously masked figures, perhaps it’s a version of reality that doesn’t lie too far outside the realm of possibility, with the actor coming close to a role that just might have transformed his image as a slightly self-serious actor.
