Mark Wahlberg confirms his talks with Joel Schumacher to play a key role in Batman Forever, sharing how “glad” he is he didn’t get the part.
Mark Wahlberg is famous for his action roles, which usually include a lot of CGI, explosions, and intense fights, typical for superhero movies, and, although he hasn’t starred in one, he came close to joining a couple of DC projects.
Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Mark Wahlberg opened up about the opportunities he’s had over the years, including his Titanic audition.
The actor revealed that he was one of Joel Schumacher’s candidates to play Batman Forever‘s Dick Grayson aka Robin. However, that didn’t work out.
The Heart of Stone actor reveals that at some point, he was selected for a screen test to play the PlayStation icon, Nathan Drake.
“No, we met,” Wahlberg confirmed around the 25:30 mark. “We met quite a few times. We talked about it [but] I never got the official offer.”
He went on to explain that he didn’t end up trying on the suit for a costume test, and admitted that he was “glad” that he didn’t get an offer. The role ultimately went to Chris O’Donnell.
DC’s 1989’s Batman, with Tim Burton at the helm, was a huge hit, as well as its 1992 sequel Batman Returns. However, once Joel Schumacher took over from Tim Burton, his films, 1995’s Batman Forever and 1997’s Batman & Robin, didn’t get the same enthusiastic response.
Actor Mark Wahlberg gives an exciting update on his long-gestating reboot of the popular 1970s series The Six Million Dollar Man.
Mark Wahlberg Also Addressed The Green Lantern Rumors
Over the years, there were some rumors that Mark Wahlberg was in talks to play Green Lantern. However, during his conversation, Wahlberg revealed that he did meet for another superhero film, but it was for Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, not Green Lantern.
“No. It was for Watchmen,” Wahlberg confirmed. “I never got to a place where I had meetings with [Zack]. Chuck Roven and I worked together on a number of occasions… but I never got that offer.”
As for the character Snyder wanted him to play, whether it was for Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s role, the Comedian, he candidly admitted, “I don’t remember, and I never saw the film.” He did add that he saw parts of the film.”
When asked whether his children asked him to do a DC or Marvel film, the actor said that the franchise they asked for was Transformers. The actor joined the famous franchise with the fourth installment, 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction, and reprised his role in 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight.
Mark Wahlberg recently starred in 2022’s Uncharted alongside Spider-Man‘s Tom Holland. A sequel to the film hasn’t been officially greenlit, despite the producers’ desire to continue adapting the popular video game.
However, Wahlberg’s latest Uncharted 2 update seemed encouraging, as there’s already a script for the project.
Although the actor doesn’t have any plans to join the MCU or the DCU, Mark Wahlberg is a busy man.
He’s attached to star in the reboot of The Six Billion Dollar Man, a feature film based on the popular ’70s series of the same name, with Travis Knight at the helm, which has been in the works for a decade.
He will also star in Shane Black’s Play Dirty with Dermot Mulroney, and Julian Farino’s Netflix thriller The Union, where he co-stars with Halle Berry.
