At the end of "Batman Begins," Jonathan Crane/the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) escapes, riding off into the night as the Gotham slums ("The Narrows") devolve into hysteria from his fear toxin.

In his first big challenge, Batman must battle Dr. Jonathan Crane (the unsettling Cillian Murphy, from “28 Days”), a psychiatrist with a crackpot plan to poison the city.

Nolan was keen on Cillian Murphy but decided that he was better suited to the role of the film’s secondary antagonist, Dr Jonathan Crane aka ‘Scarecrow’; the two would go on to make another ...

So who wound up getting the role of Dr. Jonathan Crane, aka the Batman baddie with the gas-emitting mask? Cillian Murphy, who went on to become a Nolan regular. It all worked out, of course.

Dr. Jonathan Crane, a former psychiatrist and a master of fear, transforms into the Scarecrow, wielding a fear-inducing toxin that plunges his victims into their worst nightmares.

Cillian Murphy almost played Batman Interestingly enough, before Murphy was cast as Jonathan Crane, he auditioned to play Batman.