Matt Damon is a bonafide A-lister at this point, with his best movies spanning multiple genres. While this new release The Odyssey is crushing at the box office, new information is also coming out about some roles that got away. That includes two different live-action Batman movies where he could have played The Boy Wonder himself, Robin. And my mind was pretty blown from his recollection.
While Damon is an accomplished movie star, there was a time when he was still auditioning for major roles. During a clip from the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he recalled auditioning for the role of Robin in Tim Burton's Batman movies... even though that role was ultimately dropped from those titles. As he shared:
I remember that we didn’t have sides. It wasn’t like you’re reading a scene with Batman. It was so secretive that it was like you’re reading this other scene with some other movie. Then, subsequent to that, in ‘93, I was one of the final three to play Robin in the George Clooney — in the Joel Schumacher Batman.
So we could have had Damon play Robin not once, but twice during the original Batman franchise (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription). While Tim Burton's two movies ultimately didn't include Dick Grayson, eventually the character would debut in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, before returning for the infamously campy Batman & Robin. Although the role would go to Chris O'Donnell for both of those blockbusters.
Later in the same interview, Matt Damon recalled trying out for Batman & Robin, which famously starred George Clooney. While O'Donnell had already played the role, the Martian actor explained why he was still able to audition for the beloved sidekick, saying:
I remember Chris O’Donnell already had the part, but they were haggling over money. And so the studio was flexing basically by flying in two other people to screen test. But they wanted Chris, but they just wanted him for a price. I knew Chris, and I remember calling [execs] like, ‘I’ll work for a quarter of what that dude’s working for. [Laughs] I was like, ‘I want the job!’ Yeah, I flew in and auditioned for Joel, but I think they always intended — I remember seeing Chris while he was making that. We were friends back then, and they always intended to give it to Chris.
Honestly, can you blame him? The entertainment industry is a tough one, and Matt Damon would have been happy to take a smaller payday in order to get the role in Batman & Robin. But in the end Chris O'Donnell would hang on to the job, which would end up being one of his most iconic roles in a long career spanning TV and film.
Given how incredible Matt Damon is as a performer, I have to wonder what he might have brought to the table as Robin opposite George Clooney's Batman. To this day we still haven't seen him in a comic book role, despite the genre's ongoing popularity... apart from his cameo in Thor: Ragnarok.
Matt Damon's The Odyssey is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. As for the Batman movies, they're all streaming over on HBO Max, including Chris O'Donnell's tenure as Robin.
