Mark Wahlberg is glad he never officially got the offer for this role

SUMMARY

Mark Wahlberg recently spoke to Josh Horowitz about superhero roles he was offered.
He said he was glad he was never officially offered the role of Robin in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995).
Dakota Johnson made similar remarks about her involvement in Sony’s Madame Web (2024).

Mark Wahlberg is an incredible actor with an impressive filmography under his belt. Having starred in many shows and movies, the actor made a name for himself in different genres – be it action, comedy, or drama. But if there is one thing missing from his folio, its superheroes. While Wahlberg had been approached quite a few times to star in different superhero roles, either he wasn’t interested in them, or things never completely materialized.

Mark Wahlberg in The Departed
Mark Wahlberg Never Got To Wear a Superhero Cape

From Green Lantern to Robin to The Watchmen, Mark Wahlberg recently revealed that there were initial talks about getting involved in quite a few projects in the superhero genre. But things never went oast the initial stage and the conversations would get stumped because of various reasons.

He was approached by Joel Schumacher for the role of Robin in the former’s Batman reboot starring Val Kilmer. But the Uncharted actor said that he was never officially offered the role.

After Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns starring Michael Keaton, Schumacher took on the reign to reboot the franchise starring Val Kilmer. He reportedly even had a talk with Wahlberg about joining his 1995 project to play Robin in Batman Forever. But it wasn’t meant to be, and the role finally went to Chris O’Donnell, after things didn’t go according to the plan.

Mark Wahlberg as Sam Sullivan in a still from Uncharted
Talking to Josh Horowitz in the recent Happy Sad Confused podcast, he spoke about his almost Robin role.

“We met, quite a few times. We talked about it. I never got the official offer,” further adding, “No, I am glad I didnt get that offer.”

Batman Forever received really poor reviews upon release, and Kilmer’s performance as the Caped Crusader isn’t worth remembering much either.

Mark Wahlberg Pulls a Dakota Johnson In His Receng Interview

When Josh Horowitz asked Mark Wahlberg if it would have been difficult for him to say no to the offer had he been given the opportunity, the 52 year old simply said:

“Well I could easily say, I’ll just be like, you know, ‘Why would I ever do that?’”

Mark Wahlberg in still from Father Stu
Saying that it’s okay to say that now, given Batman Forever‘s performance at the box office and among critics, Mark Wahlberg gave a reply befitting the occasion. And his response seems a little similar to what Dakota Johnson said, after her latest venture, Sony’s Madame Web, bombed at the box office. Speaking to Bustle, after the tragic performance of the movie, Johnson said:

“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that this has gone down the way it has.”

Calling it a learning experience, Johnson further added:

“It was definitely an experience for me to make that movie. I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again because I don’t make sense in that world. And I know that now. But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, Wait, what?”

According to the actress, this experience has made her turn her back on comic book movies, and she does not want to do any more of them, but they sure did teach her a few things.