Josh Hartnett Turned Down the Role of Superman Twice

Josh Hartnett was almost Superman (twice) and almost Batman, but didn't want the role to become his whole life.

By Russ Burlingame

Josh Hartnett is doing the press rounds for Trap, and you know what that means: reporters asking him about the time he turned down the role of Superman in Brett Ratner's planned Superman movie. Or...times? The Oppenheimer actor apparently turned down the role of Superman on two different occasions. That's pretty impressive considering he also met with Christopher Nolan for Batman once -- although it's only Superman where he got far enough into the process to do a costume fitting. The star, who has kept a fairly low profile since exploding onto the scene around the turn of the century, said that he avoided big franchises in part so that the roles didn't take over his life.

Speaking with The Guardian, the star said that he turned the cape down twice, although he doesn't go any farther than that. In previous articles, it's been reported that he turned down Superman Returns, so it's possible that while Ratner's movie never happened (and evolved into Returns), the star also turned down Bryan Singer later in the process.

"I just didn't want my life to be swallowed up by my work," Hartnett told the paper. "And there was a notion at that time you just kind of give it all up. And you saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn't want that for myself."  

A photo of Hartnett's wardrobe test surfaced last year. The costume is notable for featuring the red logo against a black background rather than yellow -- something that has been done in media before, notably in the Max Fleischer cartoons, but never made its way to live action yet (except in Man of Steel, where it was raised and textured plastic instead of a cloth shield). The costume test was from Superman: Flyby, based on a screenplay by JJ Abrams. Eventually, Abrams exited the project, but his script was still going to serve as the basis for a movie by Ratner. A number of different actors were considered for Superman, including Henry Cavill and Brandon Routh. Hartnett was offered the job, but ultimately turned it down. Matthew Bomer was hired for the role, but not long after that, Superman: Flyby fell apart entirely.

"I was at that time of my career, where a lot of people were asking me to do those types of movies," Hartnett explained in 2020. "I was having meetings with those directors and people were saying: 'Would you be interested?' I talked to them about what they were doing and I ultimately decided I wasn't, but that was a very privileged place for a young man to be in. I'm a little bit outside of the box and had the leverage to do that, and that's the direction I chose."

Around the same time, Hartnett had conversations with Christopher Nolan about playing Batman, but the two parted ways before any offer was ever on the table.

What Is Trap About?

Here's the official synopsis for Shyamalan and Hartnett's latest: 

Related:

"Warner Bros. Pictures presents a new experience in the world of M. Night Shayamalan—Trap —featuring performances by rising music star Saleka Shyamalan. A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and sinister event.

"Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider." 

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