“We did ask him very politely”: Marvel Failed to Get Legendary German Director as JARVIS Who Nearly Got Christian Bale Killed in Epic War Movie

What If...? series planned to feature alternate universe version of JARVIS with Werner Herzog to voice the character.

Written by: Priya
Reviewed by: Angad
“We did ask him very politely”: Marvel Failed to Get Legendary German Director as JARVIS Who Nearly Got Christian Bale Killed in Epic War Movie

SUMMARY

  • What If...? series will feature the alternate universe version of Tony Stark's JARVIS which is named as WERNER. 
  • The series writer planned Wener Herzog to voice the character.
  • However, the filmmaker politely turned it down.
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Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced us to many iconic characters including Paul Bettany’s JARVIS. The AI butler assisted the titular character in the Iron Man sub-franchise. Iron Man’s computerized butler not only helped him in his adventures but also had control over the high-tech devices of his lab. In the upcoming What If…? series, an alternate-universe version of JARVIS will be featured, with headwriter, A.C. Bradley having plans to name it as WERNER. For the role, she approached, Werner Herzog to voice the character but he refused the opportunity. 

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JARVIS and Tony Stark
JARVIS and Tony Stark

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For the unversed, Herzog is the same director who nearly got Christian Bale killed in the epic-war film, Rescue Dawn. 

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Marvel Approached Werner Herzog to Voice Alternate Universe Version of JARVIS 

Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog [Courtesy of FRANÇOIS DUHAMEL/DISNEY+]
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As per SlashFilm, Marvel Studios wanted to feature a German version of the alternate universe version of Tony Stark’s JARVIS, which was named WERNER. The What If…? series head writer, A.C. Bradley thought of Werner Herzog to voice the character. The filmmaker is already known for his filmmaking work. He has also played the character, The Client in four episodes of The Mandalorian. Given that he is already well-versed in the work, approaching him was surely a great option. She stated, 

“[W]e were talking about just different voices for Jarvis and also Favreau. ‘The Mandalorian’ had just come out, and that was amazing. And Werner Herzog was in it and we’re like, ‘What if we can get Werner?’ And Werner Herzog is one of those voices that when you start talking in it badly and [imitating] doing it, you kind of get carried away with it. I think we had two pages of the alternate J.A.R.V.I.S. dialogue.”

Given that she was keen on having the filmmaker, the studios politely approached the filmmaker with the offer. She added, 

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“There was so much of it because it was so much fun. We did ask him very politely if he would like to do it. My understanding is we asked him, and he very politely said no.”

Sadly, Herzog refused the offer. While his work would surely have created an impact, he is not the easiest man to work with. He once put Christian Bale in a difficult spot. 

Werner Herzog Almost Put Christian Bale at Risk 

Christian Bale in Rescue Dawn (2006)
Christian Bale in Rescue Dawn (2006)

Also Read: “That’s my boy”: Christian Bale Has The Same Bond With 1 Director Like Leonardo DiCaprio Has With Martin Scorsese

Christian Bale worked with Herzog in the 2006 war epic, Rescue Dawn which almost ended up risking his life. However, the Batman Begins actor was quick to defy his wishes. Referring to his character, Lt. Dieter Dengler’s helicopter rescue scene, the filmmaker disregarded the producer’s safety concerns, wanting to go ahead with a stunt scene. Bale recalled in an interview with GQ, 

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“We were in the helicopter… and we’re in the jungle on top of that. It was flown by these pilots that were crazy and they would take off in these crazy manoeuvres and you’d take out half a tree as you went. And I was standing, you know, on the rail, just hanging on from it. It was something else. I can’t remember what he suggested, but obviously in that moment I didn’t agree.”

He eventually lost his temper and called out the director stating that he would not be following what he wanted from him. 

“I am not going to f**kin’ die for you, Werner! You got that?”

Eventually, they did not go ahead with the plan. Despite that, the movie ended up receiving critical acclaim. It is now streaming on Hulu. Meanwhile, What If…? is available on Disney+. 

Christian BaleWerner Herzog

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Written by Priya Sharma

Articles Published: 1084

Priya Sharma, Senior Content Writer and Social Media Manager at FandomWire and Animated Times. Having graduated in Journalism and Mass Communication, she possesses extensive expertise in crafting engaging and informative content. She has written over 2000 articles across Animated Times and FandomWire on pop culture, showing her dedication to delivering diverse and trending content to readers across the world. Apart from pop culture, she is quite enthusiastic about the Hallyu culture and is exploring the world of anime, expanding the horizons of her knowledge.