Trap: Josh Hartnett Addresses Potential for Superhero Role After Turning Down Superman Twice

Josh Hartnett says he remains open to the idea of playing a superhero, if the filmmaker and the role is right. Hartnett, who read for Christopher Nolan’s Batman and turned down the role of Superman twice, is making the press rounds for Trap, his new film from director M. Night Shyamalan. With Comic Con in the rear view mirror and Deadpool & Wolverine dominating the global box office, it’s probably inevitable that Hartnett ends up answering questions about capes and cowls — but he doesn’t seem especially bothered with the idea one way or the other.

Hartnett has previously said that part of his decision to turn down Superman was that he didn’t want the role to completely take over his life. Ahead of the release of Trap, the star says he mostly wanted to subvert expectations, which meant when he was an A-lister with big-budget movies knocking, he did some indie films that he thought were interesting.

“My relationship to it is exactly what it was: if it’s a good filmmaker and it’s going to be a good role, I would do any genre,” Hartnett told ComicBook. “It’s not necessarily about the genre. I, at the time, that just wasn’t what my interest was. As an actor I’ve always tried to subvert expectations or just change what I’m doing for myself and at that time, people saw me in these heroic movies and wanted me to keep doing heroic parts. At the time, I played an autistic man who falls in love with an autistic woman in a movie called Mozart and the Whale. I wanted to stretch myself, and I continue to stretch myself. We’ll see.”

A photo of Hartnett’s wardrobe test for Brett Ratner’s abandoned Superman projcet 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.

In Trap, “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.

The director of photography is Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Call Me by Your Name). The production designer is Debbie de Villa (The Hating Game). It is edited by Noëmi Preiswerk and the music is by Herdĭs Stefănsdŏttir (Knock at the Cabin). The music supervisor is Susan Jacobs (Old); the costume designer is Caroline Duncan (Old). The casting is by Douglas Aibel (Asteroid City).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A Blinding Edge Pictures Production, An M. Night Shyamalan Film: Trap. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, in theaters only nationwide on August 9th and internationally beginning on August 1st.