In a recent interview, Haley Lu Richardson addressed her experience auditioning for Marvel and not being cast in superhero roles.
Over the years, Richardson has compiled a broad resume ranging from Disney Channel’s Shake It Up to The Edge of Seventeen, as well as 2016’s Split, and most recently, 2022’s White Lotus.
Back in 2021, the actress almost added Batgirl to her resume; and while she ultimately didn’t land the now-axed Warner Bros. DCU film, she recently discussed her experience auditioning for a Marvel role as well.
Haley Lu Richardson Almost Joined the Marvel Universe
On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, actress Haley Lu Richardson opened up about auditioning for superhero films, including a role within the Marvel universe.
After Josh Horowitz noted how she was considered for Batgirl, he went on to ask if that was her first superhero audition to which Richardson admitted “No, I’ve done quite a few:”
“No, I’ve done quite a few and they’re just so much, you know what I mean?”
When asked if she’s ever had to get into costume, the actress brought up her Marvel audition, describing the experience as a “big screen test” with “real cameras there” and “hair, and makeup, and stuff,” indicating that this was for a significant role:
“I’ve never gotten to do that. I did test do like a big screen test for a Marvel character, and there was like real cameras there, and they did our hair, and makeup, and stuff. But they just directed us in what kind of street clothes to wear, like what colors and stuff. We didn’t actually get in a superhero costume.”
But even more revealing was her admitting how “overwhelming” her Marvel audition was as it required a major commitment when “you haven’t even seen a script:”
“But yeah, it’s just so overwhelming, because you’re just committing to something, and you haven’t even seen a script.”
Josh Horowitz confirmed this actuality, explaining how actors sign on “for the next five movies:”
“Right, well, people don’t know like you sign literally like, ’Yeah, I’m in for the next five movies, if you so choose to take me.’”
But according to Richardson, “it’s not even just five movies” anymore, and even though it’s “exciting” it’s also “a lot:”
“Yeah, and now it’s not even just five movies. It’s like seven years of literally whatever they want you for, which, you know… there’s something that’s so exciting about that if you meet… because hopefully you get to meet the director, and the producers that would be making it, and you get to you look up, and read all the comics on the character… So there’s something that’s really exciting if you feel like all the other things align. It’s something that you could just like trust and throw yourself into. But it is a lot.”
Circling back on Batgirl which ultimately went to Leslie Grace, Horowitz questioned whether that role was the one she felt “most excited about” at the time.
Richardson confirmed that it was, especially since “JK Simmons being my dad would have been pretty cool:”
“Yeah. And yeah, JK Simmons being my dad would have been pretty cool. Yeah, ‘Batgirl,’ I mean… it was pretty iconic. But yeah, I was very excited, but you know.”
After Horowitz pointed out there will be more opportunities and joked about how studios just might make “one or two more superhero movies,” the actress, also teasing, said, “I think they might make a couple more, yeah. They seem to do pretty well.”
An Actor’s Take On Marvel and DC Auditions
Even though it’s no secret that Haley Lu Richardson was on the shortlist for Batgirl, she didn’t confirm which Marvel character she screen-tested for.
While it could’ve been for the MCU, it’s equally possible her audition was for the former X-Men franchise, or possibly Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
Regardless, it was still fascinating to learn an actor’s perspective of a Marvel audition and their screen testing process, as well as how the multi-project commitment can be “overwhelming.”
Along the lines of Batgirl, it was equally interesting to learn how interested Richardson was in the role, even after the film was notoriously canceled by the studio.
But as Josh Horowitz said, neither Batgirl nor Richardson’s mysterious Marvel audition is likely to be her last.
Not only are comic book studios churning out more projects in the coming years, but more than one of those studios already has Haley Lu Richardson’s number.
