Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul Reveals He Was Offered A Role In Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy

The Dark Knight trilogy, which starred Christian Bale as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s standalone DC franchise, finished its run in 2012. While several actors have played Batman in movies and TV shows over the decades, the Nolan-verse still remains one of the most highly regarded takes on the superhero.

Numerous stars boarded Nolan’s films, but one of Breaking Bad’s popular actors almost made his way into the trilogy. In an exclusive interview with ScreenRant for his new video game Dispatch, Aaron Paul, who starred as Jesse Pinkman in the AMC drama, revealed that he had initially been offered a role in one of the Nolan’s DC movies.

“I sat down with Christopher Nolan on another project. This was years ago,” he stated before adding, “I think it was for Interstellar, but I was offered a very small role – you’re literally just reminding me of this – in one of the Batman movies he was doing.” However, availability got in the way: “I was literally shooting another project, and I couldn’t do it. It was a tiny, tiny, tiny role – but I don’t care.”

The 40-year-old actor stressed that he just wanted “to be in his universe.” Paul commented that he is “[into] classic Gotham. I love Batman. I think Batman’s probably my favorite, because he’s kind of a real guy, right? He’s just the guy with a lot of money and a lot of toys, and he’s not messing around.” He also added his passion for the Man of Steel, “I love Superman – I love it all. It’s just such a fun, fantastic world where the options are sort of limitless.”

While he never specified who his character would have been, he “just watched Dark Knight the other night.” Paul concluded his answer with, “I thought about that. I was like, “‘Ah, it would have just been so cool to just be in 30 seconds of one of those movies.'”

Explored through a gritty and grounded take, The Dark Knight trilogy became one of the most commercially successful properties for Warner Bros. and DC, as the three films together grossed more than $2.4 billion at the worldwide box office. Nolan’s work on Batman also got him involved with rebooting Superman for the studio through 2013’s Man of Steel from Zack Snyder.

James Gunn’s DC Universe is currently working on a new take on the DC legend, with The Brave and The Bold movie being written at DC Studios. Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, which exists as an Elseworlds property, is gearing up for filming in 2026.

Nolan’s DC trilogy, which consists of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises, is available through home media release and on streaming.

Movie(s)

Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises

Character(s)

Batman, Alfred Pennyworth, Commissioner Gordon, Lucius Fox, Bane, The Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face