With superhero movies receiving more love from fans each year, two of the biggest comic book publishers — Marvel and DC Comics — have turned into giants in the movie industry.

And while DC’s attempts at creating their own cinematic universe hasn’t been as successful as MCU's, they have a fair share of successful superhero movies.

Among the dozens of movies that DC offers, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy is considered to be the best. The trilogy has some of the most iconic characters in superhero movie history including Heath Ledger’s Joker.

However, the trilogy could have looked entirely different had the casting decision been any different. Here’s a look at what the cast could have looked like if other actors considered for the roles had landed them in Batman Begins.

Heath Ledger as Batman

Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) is a fan favorite for many people and the actor also won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role. 

But before Ledger was cast as the Joker, he had previously met with Nolan to discuss him putting on the bat suit for Batman Begins. He let go of the role as he wasn’t a big comic book movie fan but joined as the iconic villain in the sequel.

Henry Cavill as Batman

Henry Cavill is known for playing Superman and Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher. But there was a very good chance of Cavill playing Bruce Wayne instead of Clark Kent. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Henry Cavill (@henrycavill)

When Batman Begins was in development, the actor had done a screen test for the role of Gotham’s masked protector.

Cavill was also being considered for the role of James Bond for the movie Casino Royale at the time. Unfortunately, he lost both the roles, one to Christian Bale and the other to Daniel Craig.

Ashton Kutcher as Batman

Another candidate who was being considered to play Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy was the Two and a Half Men star, Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher had mostly starred in romantic comedies back then and had little prior experience in action movies.

However, the role of Batman ultimately went to Christian Bale after Nolan convinced the studio that Kutcher wasn’t a good fit for his vision of the caped crusader.

Cillian Murphy as Batman

One reason The Dark Knight Trilogy is loved so much is because of the antagonists in the movies. Batman Begins had Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul, The Dark Knight had Joker, and The Dark Knight Rises had Bane.

It’s hard to imagine these villains being played by anyone else but back during production, Cillian Murphy, who we know for playing Scarecrow, was originally considered for the role of Batman.

Ewan McGregor as Scarecrow

While Murphy was eventually cast as Scarecrow, the actor who was being considered before that was the Star Wars star, Ewan McGregor. And while McGregor did not appear in the trilogy, he later joined Birds of Prey alongside Margot Robbie as Black Mask.