The first month and a half of 2017 has been rocky. People need some good news. Rejoice! We can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that in the late 90s we dodged a bullet. Coolio, the man behind the song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” was almost the Scarecrow in Joel Schumacher’s unproduced “Batman & Robin” sequel. However, due to that film’s horrendous reception, Schumacher was kicked off any potential sequels and we didn’t have to endure almost 2 hours of Coolio as the classic Batman villain.
READ MORE: ‘Batman & Robin’ Director Joel Schumacher Says “Bat Nipples Will Be On My Gravestone”
In an interview at the Turkey Creek Bar & Grill in Texas after a show with the Burleston Star (via THR), the rapper was asked about why he had a cameo in “Batman & Robin.” Coolio said, “The only reason I did that part was because they promised me the villain part in the following Batman, which they didn’t do because Joel Schumacher — they fired him. Me and him didn’t get along that great anyway. The next Batman the villain was supposed to be the Scarecrow.”
So other than the fact that its sad hearing that Coolio is now performing in front of “hundreds and hundreds” of people at local bars around the country, we get the news that Schumacher wanted the rapper to be the main villain in his sequel. However, let’s not get carried away with this. It’s highly unlikely that was the case at all.
READ MORE: Watch: Everything Wrong With ‘Batman & Robin’ In 19 Minutes
In the comics, The Scarecrow is the alias of Dr. Jonathan Crane, a professor of psychology and psychiatry. In “Batman & Robin,” Coolio played a character that was involved in illegal street racing. It’s difficult to imagine that Schumacher was going to turn The Scarecrow into a street racer, though anything was possible with the franchise in his hands. The director has previously said he wanted Nicolas Cage for the role in what would’ve been “Batman Unchained” (lol), in a story that would’ve seen Batman committed to Arkham Asylum and eventually squaring off against all his old foes.
Oh, what could’ve been….
