More goodies from the recently released “The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition” are making their way online, albeit briefly. Over the weekend, footage of Christian Bale‘s audition to play Bruce Wayne, from the extra features on the set, landed online, only to be quickly yanked and we presume the same will happen here, so click now while you can.
Believe it or not, before he was slated to play Scarecrow, Cillian Murphy stepped in to audition as Batman himself, and you can see his work below. While behind the mask he’s not too bad, he still looks a touch unsettling wearing a suit as the good guy. Wisely, studio executives and Nolan still saw some good talent in the actor and they gave him the villain role instead, one that wound up stretching across three movies. The lesser known Eion Bailey (“Band Of Brothers,” “Once Upon A Time“) also gave it a shot, but wasn’t the right fit.
Anyway, watch the entire “Casting The Batman” featurette below with Bailey, Bale and at the 6:23 mark, Murphy. Thoughts? Let us know below. [Comic Book Movie]