Supergirl's new villain actor actually almost played Batman in Zack Snyder's DCEU

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Matthias Schoenaerts has joined the Supergirl movie

Matthias Schoenaerts in The Regime / Batman in Dawn of Justice
(Image credit: HBO/Warner Bros.)

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow finally got some new casting news, months after Milly Alcock joined in the title role. Red Sparrow actor Matthias Schoenaerts is set to play the villain in the upcoming movie.

However, you might not realize that the star almost played another major role in the DC universe. When Zack Snyder was casting Batman for his DCEU, Schoenaerts was a frontrunner for the part, which ultimately went to Ben Affleck.

On the Happy Sad Confused podcast back in 2021, Snyder explained: "I was talking to [Schoenaerts] a lot about it. He never got in the suit, but I did do a bunch of mock-ups of him, because Ben was on the fence. And I don’t blame him. Everyone should be on the fence when you’re asked, 'Do you want to play Batman?'"

It’s not yet clear who exactly Schoenaerts is playing in Supergirl, but given it’s following the storyline of the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic by Tom King and Billquis Evely, it seems likely he’ll be Krem of the Yellow Hills. Described as a "killer of men, women, and dogs", he’s a pretty ruthless bad guy who murders the father of alien girl Ruthye Marye Knoll, which brings him to Supergirl’s attention.

Fay Watson
Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.