Fans of the hit television show Lost are undoubtedly familiar with Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), the de facto leader of the castaway group on the mysterious island. Originally, the character of Jack and his role on the show were much different. Before Fox was cast as the heroic doctor, the role was offered to Batman actor Michael Keaton.
As told to The Hollywood Reporter, J. J. Abrams reached out to Keaton about playing the role of Jack Shephard during the early days of the show’s development. Instead of being a doctor, Jack was one of the pilots of the crashed airplane. Originally, Lost wasn’t meant to be as serialized as it eventually became. The first episode would have positioned Keaton’s Jack as the show’s lead, only to kill off his character in the final ten minutes of the pilot. Keaton was intrigued at the idea of appearing in an hour-long TV show, where audiences expected him to be the lead, only for his character to die.
It’s unclear if the decision came from Abrams or the studio, but eventually, it was decided that the audience would get too attached to Jack. As such, the show was re-written so that he lived. Keaton didn’t want the long-term commitment that a TV show demanded, so he turned down the role, and it went to actor Matthew Fox. Jack became the group of survivors’ leader, and by proxy, was seen as the lead of the ensemble cast. Ultimately, Jack died, but not until the final moments of the series finale, sacrificing himself to save his fellow survivors and the island.
At the time when he was offered the part, Keaton’s career had slowed down a bit. Offers had stalled, and Keaton was spending less time in Los Angeles and more time with his family. Eventually, he underwent a career resurgence after accepting the lead role in Birdman, which landed him an Oscar nomination. He will also be reprising his iconic role as Batman in the upcoming Flash movie.
Lost wasn’t a show that was afraid to kill off cast members. Casting Keaton as Jack, then killing him off, would have continued the tradition seen in films like Psycho and Scream, which killed off the biggest star and presumed lead to establish that every character is in danger.
Ultimately, both Lost and Keaton ended up going down different paths. The show became a serialized drama that still influences TV to this day, while Keaton’s career soared to new heights that resulted in multiple Oscar nominations and reprising one of his most beloved roles as the Bat.
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