What IF Willem Dafoe Had Been Batman By Joey Ernand on October 29, 2009 I just came across something that would have made for a very different "Batman" movie back in 1989: According to the actor himself, none other than Willem Dafoe was approached to be the Bat for Tim Burton. "Very early, they talked to me about playing Batman," Dafoe told MTV News. "I hate to spread these things because unless you remember it well, you're stoking the fires of bulls---," said the actor. "But I remember [it]. I've had my brush with these things." Man, I love Dafoe and all, but I cannot see him as Batman. He would've have made a good Joker, yes...an even better, more menacing Joker than Nicholson's take at the time, but he doesn't exactly have suave, good-looking billionaire going for him. Not that Michael Keaton was a good Bruce Wayne either, but that has as much to do with the way the character was written back then as with Keaton's appearance and portrayal. You know what else is funny? I can name you at least three people who I think would've been a better Batman/Bruce Wayne circa 1988 or whenever Keaton was cast (Mel Gibson, Kurt Russel, Jason Patric) but I couldn't name you one other actor working right now who I think would be better than Christian Bale. That's just perfect casting right there. What do you guys think? Source: MTV Tags: News, Batman, Willem Dafoe, News