Mahershala Ali Reportedly Nearly Joined Robert Pattinson In The Batman

Matt Reeves' The Batman already has a fair amount of arthouse clout as well as A-list sparkle with Robert Pattinson, but reports this week say that that's been amplified even more by the potential casting of Jonah Hill as the villain and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Jim Gordon. But the role of Gordon nearly went to Mahershala Ali, according to insiders.

You want a reassuring presence to play Gordon - like Gary Oldman in Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy - and ideally one with his own large mustache. While Wright is a very, very reassuring presence indeed, it's been reported that Ali was in the frame for the role too. Eventually, though, Ali passed so that he could work on the Blade reboot. Justin Kroll, who's a film reporter for Variety, said as much on Twitter yesterday.

Fun little fact to all the BATMAN news, prior to going out to Wright, Mahershala was in line for the role...and then BLADE came around

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) September 23, 2019

Obviously, it's a delight to have Mahershala Ali in any role, of any description, in any film or TV program. He could add heft to Homes Under the Hammer if Martin Roberts ever needed a break from getting wound up about cornicing. No doubt Ali would have been a brilliant Jim Gordon

Photo by CASS BIRD/ESQUIRE.

But Jeffrey Wright is still a very good shout. Most people will know him as that other extremely sturdy and dependable lieutenant to a quasi-superpowered totem of explosive masculinity, Felix Leiter from the James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Plus, there have already been some excellent Photoshop jobs from fans who've added the traditional mustache and do you know what? He looks great.

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This story originally appeared on Esquire.co.uk. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.