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Like everyone else involved in the film, Emily Blunt struck gold with Oppenheimer (now streaming exclusively on Peacock!). Christopher Nolan’s historical epic is one of the most celebrated movies of the past year, and Blunt is right at the center of all the critical and commercial love alongside co-stars Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. She’s even landed a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the upcoming Academy Awards for her role as Kitty Oppenheimer, J. Robert Oppenheimer’s wife. 

Not bad for her first collaboration with Christopher Nolan, but according to Blunt, their first time working together almost arrived much earlier.

In an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast released earlier this month, Blunt revealed that she was originally up for a role in Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, which launched with Batman Begins (also streaming on Peacock) all the way back in 2005.

For More on Emily Blunt and Christopher Nolan:
Emily Blunt’s Best Genre Roles
Oppenheimer Now Streaming Exclusively on Peacock with Making-Of Featurettes
Your Ultimate Christopher Nolan Binge Guide

Emily Blunt Says She Met with Christopher Nolan About Dark Knight Trilogy Casting

“I met him very briefly, but I don’t think I was right,” Blunt said of Nolan. 

So, which role was Blunt up for back in the Dark Knight days? While she couldn’t remember the exact chronology of her audition, Blunt did explain that she was after the role of Rachel Dawes, the Gotham City prosecutor and childhood friend of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) who ends up being his love interest and, crucially, his driving force to one day stop being Batman. The role was played by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, and was recast with Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Dark Knight. While Blunt couldn’t recall whether she’d auditioned for the first film or the second, she did have a very Zen response to losing the part.

“The best girl wins,” she told host Josh Horowitz.

Of course, now that she’s made it into Nolan’s company of actors, Blunt hopes to have more than Oppenheimer on her list of credits in the director’s films. When an audience member asked what kind of role she’d like to have the next time he calls, Blunt was more interested in letting Nolan work his magic.

“I feel like whatever I invent in my head he’s going to surpass with some mindbending, extraordinary idea,” she said. “I hope he calls, just leave it at that.”

The Dark Knight Trilogy and Oppenheimer are now streaming on Peacock.