The cinematic world of Batman is packed to the brim with near misses and "almost" moments, and one of the most notable is Joel Schumacher's Batman: Unchained-- which got the axe after Batman & Robin failed. It is an unmade film that has developed a reputation for how bizarre it would've been, and some of the early casting decisions were so crazy that they possibly could've worked. As it turns out, the film was supposed to use Jonathan Crane a.k.a Scarecrow as its main villain and Coolio was at one time set to take on the role. The rapper said:
The only reason I did that part, 'cause they promised me the villain part in the following Batman, which they didn't do because Joel Schumacher, they fired him. He was supposed to do two Batmans, but he didn't do the next one. Me and him didn't get along that great anyway, and he made a terrible Batman [movie]. So the next Batman, the villain was supposed to be Scarecrow. I was gonna be Scarecrow, but they didn't do it.
We thought we knew everything about this canceled Batman film, but Coolio's comments at a recent show in Texas have thrown us for a loop. The presence of Scarecrow in Batman: Unchained become a well-documented fact in the years since the project died in development hell. However, we've never heard anything about Coolio possibly taking on the role. Most rumors associated with the ill-fated project indicated that Nicolas Cage was tapped to play the supervillain, and I think it's safe to say that Coolio would've brought something very, very different than Mr. Cage. Now it seems that we will never know.
Of course, the rest is history and Scarecrow remained on ice as a live-action villain until Christopher Nolan dusted him off for Batman Begins. Cillian Murphy's very traditional take on Jonathan Crane has become a fan-favorite aspect of the entire Dark Knight trilogy, so the cancellation of Unchained was arguably better for the character in the end.
That said, Coolio still got the chance to appear in a superhero movie later on in his career. Although his scenes didn't make the theatrical version of the film, the rapper received the opportunity to play a major role in the director's cut of 2003's Daredevil -- which is unquestionably the better version of the movie. He didn't get to play an iconic Batman villain, but playing a significant part in the superior cut of Daredevil is a pretty awesome consolation prize.
What do you think of this revelation? Do you think either Coolio or Nicolas Cage would've made a great Scarecrow, or are you happy with Cillian Murphy's take on the character? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
