Pierce Brosnan Could Have Been Our Batman; If Only He Could Keep His Mouth Shut
No matter how you look at it, superhero stories are full of silly elements.
One could even argue that this silliness is not merely a legacy of the past, but a necessary part of the superhero genre, given that attempts to write "realistic" superhero stories without said silly elements usually fail or cannot stand up on their own, without depending on traditional superhero stories to be compared with and to provide foundations for such alternative takes on the genre.
But sometimes you are not supposed to point out the silliness. Not when you want to get a leading role in a superhero movie, directed by a person who is determined to treat the story he's making seriously and earnestly. Yet that was exactly the mistake which Pierce Brosnan committed when he went to Tim Burton in hopes of getting the role of Batman in 1989 Batman movie. And he, apparently, was close to getting the role – before tripping on his own tongue. As Brosnan reminisced recently on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,
"I remember saying something stupid to Tim Burton. I said, 'You know, I can't understand any man who would wear his underpants outside his trousers.' But there you go."
As we all know, Brosnan did not get to play the character he could not understand. Which, by his own admission, was for the best, for Michael Keaton played Batman excellently. To this day, many still consider his performance to be the defining portrayal of the bat-costumed crimefighter on the big screen.
As for Pierce Brosnan, apparently over time he learned to appreciate the superhero genre, underpants outside the trousers and all. He is about to make his superhero debut as the DC character Doctor Fate in Black Adam, which premieres this week. In the recent interview, after remembering the above-mentioned story, he said, "But, of course, you're standing there in a mocap suit, a motion-capture suit, which is the most inelegant and kind of humorous thing to wear. Ping-pong balls, grey tights. You got to have a sense of humor."
Well, perhaps having the sense of humor always was the key for understanding caped heroes, their struggles and troubles, with all possible seriousness, and doing your best to portray them on screen, certain silly elements of their character designs nonwithstanding. We can hope that Pierce Brosnan's performance in the upcoming Black Adam movie would not disappoint.