Was Jake Gyllenhaal Almost Batman? The Dark Knight Casting Reports Explained

Batman is arguably the most iconic and well-known comic book character of all time. After all, few superheroes are so beloved that even their villains, like Harley Quinn and the Joker, can have their own movies and be successful. This is, of course, on top of all the different iterations of the Caped Crusader himself.

With this in mind, Christopher Nolan had his work cut out for him when he tackled the task of rebooting the Dark Knight in "Batman Begins." On top of pulling the franchise back from the campy silliness of the two previous installments, he also had to redesign key elements (like the Batmobile) so that they make more sense and find a new actor to take on the titular role. That performer could have been Jake Gyllenhaal.

While the part eventually went to Christian Bale, David S. Goyer, who wrote the film, revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that Gyllenhaal was another strong candidate the team had in mind. "There were a number of people that had screen tested, and I had advocated for Gyllenhaal," Goyer recalled. "I mean, Gyllenhaal's amazing Christian Bale is amazing, so who knows?"

While Christian Bale undoubtedly left his stamp on the World's Greatest Detective in the "Dark Knight" trilogy, it's not difficult to imagine Jake Gyllenhaal in the role. Like Christian Bale, who had his breakout as Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho," Gyllenhaal got noticed in Hollywood after his role as the troubled titular character in "Donnie Darko."

Being that the actor has had no shortage of darker roles since then, in movies like "Nightcrawler," "Zodiac," "Enemy," and "Nocturnal Animals," it's clear that Gyllenhaal is capable of the intimidation and intensity that is so pivotal to playing a character like Batman. Even more interesting to consider is that Gyllenhaal ended up in another 2005 movie, "Brokeback Mountain," with Heath Ledger, likely as a side effect of not being cast in "Batman Begins."

Considering the irresistible screen chemistry that Ledger and Gyllenhaal displayed in "Brokeback Mountain," it would have been an intriguing combination to see the two totally at odds in "The Dark Knight" (assuming Ledger was still cast as the Joker). Though we'll never know what Christoper Nolan's "Batman" series would have looked like with Gyllenhaal filling in for Bale, the notion is filled with endless possibilities for fans to imagine.