Matt Damon has revealed that he auditioned for the role of Robin in two separate live-action Batman film projects earlier in his career, though he never landed either part. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor recalled trying out for the role first during Tim Burton's tenure directing the Batman franchise, and again in 1993 for Joel Schumacher's film starring George Clooney, in a role that ultimately went to Chris O'Donnell.

Damon described the secretive nature of the Burton-era audition, noting he was given unrelated script excerpts rather than genuine Batman material. For the Schumacher film, he said he was one of the final three actors screen-tested, used by the studio to pressure O'Donnell during salary negotiations, and even offered to work for a quarter of O'Donnell's rate, but the part had reportedly always been intended for his friend. Robin never appeared in Burton's two Batman films, and while Damon missed out on the DC franchise entirely, he has since built an extensive collaboration with Batman director Christopher Nolan on films including Interstellar, Oppenheimer and this year's The Odyssey.