The two superhero movies Leonardo DiCaprio turned down: “I didn’t want the role”
Leonardo DiCaprio is famously very selective when choosing his projects, only working with the cream of the crop and regularly returning to the safe arms of Martin Scorsese for more additions to his legendary filmography. After starting out in the industry as a child, DiCaprio has always proved himself as different to other performers of his age, demonstrating a passionate level of obsessiveness over his craft and commitment to study films that many other kids his age would not be concerned with, highlighting a natural talent that was prevalent from the very beginning.
Since those early days in the industry, with critically acclaimed performances in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and the Basketball Diaries, the actor went from strength to strength, collaborating with great directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and an upcoming project with Paul Thomas Anderson, which might just be the most eagerly anticipated creative union of his career thus far.
But while he has had parts in a myriad of commercial blockbusters and independent dramas, ranging from Capitalist satire to period pieces and thrillers, the actor has been adamant about his disinterest in accepting one type of role in particular, despite its increasingly dominant presence in the film industry.
The mere mention of the Marvel Universe sparks equal levels of disappointment and praise. True film lovers hate its monopoly over the business, while others admire the often-mediocre additions to the floundering story world.
However, countless actors have forged careers through their work in the franchise, with some that are more disappointing than others, with the likes of Florence Pugh and Chloe Zhao being lured over to the dark side and committing creative crimes through their involvement in subpar projects that add nothing to the world in comparison to their previous projects, such as Midsommar, Little Women and Nomadland.
But one actor who seemingly has his head screwed on when it comes to steering clear of superhero movies and Marvel-esque slop is DiCaprio, who described the two huge projects that he politely declined.
When discussing this, DiCaprio explained how he once met with Joel Schumacher about the role of Robin in Batman Forever, which was famously a ginormous flop. DiCaprio said, “I never screen-tested. I had a meeting with Joel Schumacher. It was just one meeting and, no, I didn’t end up doing it… As I recall 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”.
Perhaps this is a diplomatic way of saying that he wasn’t interested in the role, as he gave a similar answer when asked about the rumours of him being asked to play Spider Man in the 2004 live-action adaptation, which Tobey Maguire later reprised. DiCaprio explained, “Er, that 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”.
While the actor was very gracious in his response, saying that he ‘wasn’t ready’ to play these characters, it seems as though he truthfully has no interest in playing these types of characters. Given the chance to work with Paul Thomas Anderson or star in a Marvel film, I know which one I would choose.
