The Tim Burton movie Marlon Brando was rumoured to be a part of: “Hey, you try”
Although his reputation has floundered in recent years due to the declining quality of his work, Tim Burton was once considered to be one of the most unassailable directing talents in film history.
Between 1985 and 1999, he directed eight films, all of which were either major financial hits or critically beloved. That’s just as impressive a run as Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Ryan Coogler, or any other modern director who has the respect of the industry. A-listers were tripping over themselves to get an opportunity to work with Burton, who seemed like a ‘mad genius’ who had connected with audiences in a very personal way.
Burton’s career was built on his ability to surpass expectations and remain true to his artistic interests, which allowed him to take risks that no one else within the industry would have dreamed of. Although Michael Keaton’s performance in Beetlejuice was a terrific casting decision that helped to create one of cinema’s most defining characters, Burton said that he originally had someone else in line for the role.
“I also wanted Sammy Davis Jr to play Beetlejuice,” the filmmaker admitted, “Sometimes my ideas don’t go down so well with the studios, but hey, you try”.
Casting an established star like Davis might have been seen as a smarter strategic move on the part of Warner Bros, but Burton clearly saw something in Keaton that was being untapped. The actor had proven himself a comedic force of nature in Night Shift, Mr Mom, and Gung Ho, but his career wasn’t taking off in a way that suggested that he could catch up to Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, and the other more prominent comedy stars at the time.
What Keaton needed was an opportunity to be as weird as possible, which is what Beetlejuice gave him. Burton’s casting of him came under greater fire during the production of Batman, however, as many hardcore fans of the comics were revolted at the idea of seeing a well-known comedy actor taking on the role of a dark, brooding caped crusader.
However, Keaton once again surprised everyone by giving the most accurate depiction of Batman from the comics as had been seen on screen up until that point. Batman announced the arrival of the modern comic book film and raised anticipation for the sequel even higher.
The first film had notoriously cast Jack Nicholson in the role of the Joker, which earned him the biggest paycheck in cinematic history up until that point in time. The notion that an Academy Award-winning legend would play a Batman villain set high expectations for the sequel, leading to many unsubstantiated rumours, one of the most popular being that Marlon Brando was approached to play the role of The Penguin, but Burton said that it wasn’t true.
Brando was in a somewhat fallow point in his career around the time that Batman Returns went into production. Although he had earned a surprising Oscar nomination for A Dry White Season and showed he was willing to make fun of his persona from The Godfather with the comedy The Freshman, he was still considered to be somewhat difficult to work with. The role of the Penguin eventually went to Danny DeVito, but Batman Returns is best remembered for Michelle Pfeiffer’s iconic portrayal of Catwoman.
