It’s legend now, but there was a time when Joel Schumacher was working on a follow-up to Batman & Robin, which was green-lit when Warner Bros. were ecstatic with the dailies that were coming back from its production. Since then we’ve heard many rumours about who was going to play certain roles, but a new story has come out today that has taken us all a bit by surprise.
According to rapper Coolio, who features in Batman & Robin as the leader of a motorcycle gang, he was supposed to play Scarecrow in the fifth movie, titled Batman Unchained.
“The only reason I did that part was because they promised me the villain part in the following Batman,” Coolio said in this interview (via The Hollywood Reporter). “Which they didn’t do because Joel Schumacher – they fired him. Me and him didn’t get along that great anyway… [In] the next Batman the villain was supposed to be the Scarecrow.”
SEE ALSO: Remember when Courtney Love nearly played Harley Quinn in the sequel to Batman & Robin?
Previously, Shcumacher has said that he courted Nicolas Cage for the role, but other rumoured names included Jeff Goldblum, Howard Stern, Ewan McGregor and Steve Buscemi. Scarecrow was set to team-up with Harley Quinn, who was touted to be played by either Madonna or Courtney Love. The film would have also seen George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell and Alicia Silverstone return to their roles, along with returning cameos from Danny DeVito as The Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, Jim Carrey as The Riddler and Jack Nicholson as The Joker.
Imagine a Batman movie where both villains are played by music artists.
Coolio did eventually star in a superhero movie, Daredevil, but all of his scenes were cut out of the theatrical version.
Originally published February 10, 2017. Updated April 13, 2018.
