Nicolas Cage was to be cast as Scarecrow in Joel Schumacher's aborted BATMAN TRIUMPHANT

Joel Schumacher has been doing press for his upcoming thriller Trespass, starring Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman. Before Batman and Robin failed miserable, he had been working on a followup called Batman Triumphant. The script had been drafted by Mark Protosevich and was planned to pit the Dynamic Duo against Scarecrow and his “fear toxins” forcing "Batman to see his former enemies, including the Joker." Jack Nicholson was still under-contract to reprise the role.  During a recent interview with The Playlist, Schumacher revealed who he wanted to play the Scarecrow in the film.

Here is what he said:

“I was supposed to do a fifth one. I was talking to Nic Cage about playing the Scarecrow. I had begged the studio for [the Frank Miller comic] ‘The Dark Knight [Returns],’ but they wanted a family friendly, toyetic thing.” Eventually, “Batman And Robin” came along, souring everyone on the franchise, and, just like that, Schumacher’s relationship with Warner Bros. dissolved, leaving behind both the “Batman” series and a third John Grisham adaptation, “Runaway Jury” (later made over at 20th Century Fox by Gary Fleder). However, Schumacher got his man soon after, as he and Cage teamed for “8MM,” which Schumacher figured, “would be the furthest thing from a summer movie.”

He goes on to say:

 “And I gave up a lot of money, but, no regrets.” Not that he’s hurting for cash, as he notes, “I have awards for selling more Batman toys than anyone in the world.” In regards to “Batman and Robin,” he was convinced he made “the wrong choice” but says, “I did my job. It was more family friendly and it sold a lot of toys, and it supported the Warner Bros. stores. But I did disappoint a lot of fans.”

I think that Cillian Murphy was great as the Scarecrow, but Cage would have definitely been interesting in the role. I am sure it would have been over-the-top as usual. What are your thoughts?