Batman & Robin director Joel Schumacher’s conception of the fourth entry in the Batman franchise looked very different, and it would have reshaped the DC Universe. Instead of Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, the filmmaker sought Nicolas Cage to play Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. The sequel would have been called Batman Unchained, and its script was penned by Mark Protosevich, who wrote I Am Legend and Thor. In addition to Scarecrow, Batman Unchained would have adapted Harley Quinn for the big screen, this time reimagined as the Joker’s daughter who wanted revenge for his death.

Previous antagonists Joker, Catwoman, the Riddler, Two-Face, and the Penguin were going to appear in an effort to tie the Tim Burton and Schumacher films together more cohesively. Unfortunately, Schumacher and Protosevich’s original vision wouldn’t see the light of day. The director hoped to take the franchise in a more serious direction and delve into the psychology behind its characters, but Warner Brothers’ push for family-friendly movies led him to make Batman & Robin instead. This decision ultimately ended the franchise due to the film’s poor reception. Though Batman Unchained wasn’t made, the potential of Cage as Scarecrow is undeniable.

Nicolas Cage Was Almost Scarecrow In The Unmade Batman Unchained

Nicolas Cage fills a unique niche in Hollywood. The actor often plays eccentric, over-the-top characters, which has made him a fan favorite among some viewers. It makes total sense that Cage would eventually be approached to join a superhero project. Over the years, he’s been attached to a few different roles. Interestingly, Schumacher courting Cage to play a villain is a rarity, as he’s been cast as Superman, Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man Noir. However, Scarecrow makes sense for Cage to play because of his unique acting style and the campy nature of the 1990s Batman films.

Of casting Cage, Schumacher revealed that the goal was to make Batman Unchained a heavier experience than Batman Forever. The director explained: “It was going to be very dark; I remember going to the set of Face/Off and asking Nic Cage to play the Scarecrow.” After shelving his original concept, he intended to revive Protosevich’s script for the sequel to Batman & Robin, and Courtney Love was reportedly considered to play Harley. As mentioned before, the latter film was very poorly received, which was the nail in the series’ coffin.

According to Protosevich, Batman & Robin’s failure led “into a period of weeks and then a month” of his “agent pestering Warners.” Before he knew it, “the Joel Schumacher-driven Batman train was taken off the rails.” Interestingly, the studio was also courting screenwriters Lee Shapiro and Stephen Wise, who also wrote a script featuring Scarecrow that would bring back George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell. While neither of these projects were made, the reboot Batman Begins also featured Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy.

Nicolas Cage Would’ve Been Perfect For The Original Batman Movie Series’ Scarecrow

Murphy played an interesting iteration of Scarecrow, but not casting Cage is a missed opportunity. He’s known for playing unhinged characters, and though his performances are often over-dramatic, the actor is certainly capable of playing convincing villains. Cage’s screen presence would be exactly the blend of chilling and camp necessary for a Batman antagonist.

If anything, Cage has only become a better fit for the role of Scarecrow over the years. He’s played comedic, scary, violent, and more, and he often dials his performances up to 11. Cage bringing that energy to Scarecrow would be fitting since the character uses his target’s deepest fears against them.

Cage’s Scarecrow Could Have Been An Ideal Villain To Blend The Horror & Silliness Of The Original Batman Movie Series

The 1990’s Batman films are simultaneously dark and campy. They are tonally inconsistent across entries, with Batman Forever pushing the series in a more comedic direction that Batman & Robin doubled down on. Regardless of whether Batman Unchained came before or after, it had the potential to use Cage as Scarecrow to marry the disparate tones across the franchise. Like the films, he is also both campy and dark as an entertainer. His inclusion along with the rest of the villains returning would have brought all of the Batman films together in a satisfactory way.

While that ship has sailed, Cage is still acting. Jonathan Crane does not have to be played by a specific age range. Cage could feasibly join James Gunn’s DC Universe as Scarecrow. With more Batman projects on the horizon, bringing in an industry veteran to play the Caped Crusader’s most terror-inducing villain could be interesting.

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  Batman is a 1989 superhero movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. The film features Jack Nicholson’s chilling portrayal as Jack Napier, who turns into the Joker and reigns terror on Gotham. Kim Basinger also stars in the film as Vicki Vale, along with Michael Gough as Bruce’s trusty butler named Alfred.

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  DC Universe

  The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.

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