The White Lotus Star Haley Lu Richardson Reflects on Failed Marvel Audition

The White Lotus and The Edge of Seventeen star Haley Lu Richardson is sharing new details about her attempts to join the superhero franchise space. In a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Richardson revealed that she’s done “quite a few” auditions for superhero projects, and spoke about one screen test for a Marvel character that ended up being uniquely daunting. While Richardson didn’t reveal which character the screen test was for, she was among the names fans suggested to play Hawkeye‘s Kate Bishop, prior to Hailee Steinfeld landing the role.

“I’ve never gotten to do that,” Richardson explained. “I did do a big screen test for a Marvel character, and there was like real cameras there, and they did our hair, and makeup, and stuff. But they just directed us in what kind of street clothes to wear, like what colors and stuff. We didn’t actually get in a superhero costume.”

“But yeah, it’s just so overwhelming, because you’re just committing to something, and you haven’t even seen a script,” Richardson continued.” 

Did Haley Lu Richardson audition for Batgirl?

This Marvel audition isn’t the only superhero role that Richardson revealed didn’t pan out for her, as she previously shared that she auditioned to play Barbara Gordon / Batgirl in DC’s now-cancelled Batgirl movie.

“It was exciting regardless, and I did get a nice little personal email from J.K. Simmons out of it, which was really nice,” Richardson told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “Getting the role would’ve been pretty cool, but I told myself that his email meant more to me than getting the role. So I tried, but I’m not Batgirl at the end of the day. I’m trying to think of what freaking superhero I can play now because aren’t they all done already? Haven’t they all been made?”

“I never auditioned with him,” Richardson continued. “I did a tape and then a meeting and then one with the directors. So I actually never met J.K., but I did receive that nice little note from him, which made me feel really good. So I didn’t get to do any of the fun stuff. I just had to do sh-tty auditioning. But it would be pretty fun to explore something like that, and it would also be fun to figure out how to ground a comic book.”

What superhero role would you like to see Haley Lu Richardson play? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!