‘Lord of the Rings’s Orlando Bloom Reveals He Almost Played Batman in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ Trilogy

To have a starring role in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy means being a part of one of the biggest and most lauded cinematic franchises of all time. But Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas in the trilogy and The Hobbit prequel trilogy, nearly added another major franchise to his acting resume. Over his career, Bloom has appeared in several major IP movies, including the aforementioned Lord of the Rings and Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. If that wasn’t enough, the actor recently revealed that he nearly added one of the most iconic characters of all time to his filmography: Batman!

Orlando Bloom recently appeared at Fan Expo Dallas, where the actor discussed everything from The Lord of the Rings to Pirates of the Caribbean. But one franchise no one was expecting Bloom to bring up was Batman. The actor revealed that he was one of the many people Christopher Nolan spoke to about playing Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, the first entry in the now timeless Dark Knight trilogy. “But I did sit down with Christopher Nolan on Batman,” Bloom casually revealed, leaving the host and the audience stunned.

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Bloom didn’t reveal too many details about the casting process for the Dark Knight trilogy, but he didn’t get too far in. “I do sometimes think, ‘Well, I wonder if I had really pursued it and done the screen test or whatever I would have had to do, if that would have gone my way?'” he continued. “But it was- I mean, Christian Bale! He destroyed that.” While Orlando Bloom didn’t seem to disappointed about missing out on the role of Batman (after all, he is Legolas), the actor is still desperate to work with Christopher Nolan in the future. Are there any elves in The Odyssey?

What Next for Batman?

For the first time in a long time, Batman’s cinematic future is currently uncertain. Matt Reeves is still in development on The Batman Part II’s script, which will see Robert Pattinson return as Bruce Wayne. Rumors had spread online that DC Studios was looking to cancel the project, but James Gunn recently confirmed those weren’t true. The Batman Part II is currently slated for release in 2027. Although if the script takes any longer, expect that release date to be pushed back yet again.

As for the rebooted DC Universe, that is even more uncertain. Batman is confirmed to be a part of the new DCU, but it might be some time before fans see him on the big screen. The Brave and the Bold has been announced as Batman’s official introduction to the DCU (not counting the brief cameo in Creature Commandos). But the film is still in development, and hasn’t yet been given the official green light by Warner Bros. or DC Studios.

Source: @FANEXPODallas

The Dark Knight

Release Date

July 16, 2008

Runtime

152 minutes

Producers

Benjamin Melniker, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Kevin De La Noy, Michael Uslan

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