Kit Harington may have met about Batman before Pattinson got it — he genuinely cannot remember
Harington says there was a meeting in LA at some point, and that Pattinson was the right choice anyway.
There are certain roles in Hollywood that actors are always rumoured for, even if they barely got as far as the casting director's waiting room. Batman is obviously near the top of that list, and now, thanks to a recent podcast appearance, Kit Harington has opened up—well, sort of—about whether he was ever really in the running for the Batcowl that ended up on Robert Pattinson's head.
Kit Harington's Bat-Brush
So, here's the setup: speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Harington (forever Jon Snow to many, regardless of what he does next) got asked the inevitable question about whether he was one of the contenders for the lead in Matt Reeves's The Batman. His answer was both interesting and appropriately cryptic. Harington reckons he 'thinks' he might have had an early meeting about the role, but wasn't convinced it was the real thing or just another circuit of the Hollywood meeting carousel. And when talk turned to Pattinson officially landing the cape, Harington said he absolutely understood the choice.
When pressed on the whole saga, Harington cleared things up a bit—but only a bit. Here's what he actually said during that interview, which should give you some sense of how blurry things can get when you've had one meeting too many in LA:
“No, I genuinely—I can’t [remember]. I feel like I’m trying to wrap my brain [around it]. There was some meeting in L.A. at some point. You have a lot of meetings about a lot of things.”
No surprise that nothing came of it, then. As history shows, Pattinson got the part and The Batman released in 2022, and that's that. Or is it?
The Next Bat-Opportunity
With DC Studios going in a new direction post-Snyder era, it's not entirely mental to think a big name like Harington could yet wind up wearing the mask. Back in 2023, James Gunn and Peter Safran officially confirmed the rebooted DCU would get its own take on Batman with a new film titled The Brave and the Bold. This one goes in a different direction: Andy Muschietti (the bloke who directed IT and The Flash) is lined up to direct, while Christina Hodson was tipped to write the script as of January 2026.
So far, no one's officially cast in the new DCU Batman project. Gunn said as late as 2025 that the final script wasn't even ready and that, while he had some actors in mind for the Bat-role, nothing's been signed. The film's meant to bring Batman and his son Damian Wayne (the Robin who stabs people) to the screen together this time, which will be new for film.
The script for the DCU's Batman film wasn't finished as of 2025, and casting is still completely up in the air.
So if you're hoping to see Harington trade in his sword for a Batsuit, no one's going to tell you it's impossible just yet. But as of now, it's only wishful thinking and podcast tales—and a vivid reminder of just how many almosts never make it past the Hollywood rumour mill.