1. Batman Triumphant
There have been a staggering amount of Batfilms that have failed to make it to the big screen, and luckily for us, Batman Triumphant falls into that list. It would have been Joel Schumacher's third take on the Caped Crusader, would have stopped the Dark Knight trilogy from getting made, and most importantly, may have killed Batman's chances on screen for a very long time if it had actually happened. Warner Bros. was impressed by the dailies while Schumacher was filming Batman & Robin, and immediately hired the director for a follow up. Akiva Goldsman, who wrote both of Schumacher's Bat flicks, turned down the chance to write Batman Triumphant, and was replaced by Mark Protosevich (who wrote Poseidon and I Am Legend). Production began in 1996 and a 1999 release date was announced. The film would have pitted Batman and his two trusty sidekicks against The Scarecrow. The Joker would return, as a hallucination in Bruce's mind caused by Scarecrow's fear toxin, and the Mad Hatter and Harley Quinn would have appeared as supporting characters (though Quinn was rewritten as the Joker's vengeful daughter). Because of the monumental disappointment, both critically and financially, that Batman & Robin quickly became (as well as George Clooney's vow to never don the cape and cowl again), Warner Bros. decided not to move forward with Batman Triumphant, and instead set their sights on both Batman Beyond and Batman: Year One. The studio was so desperate to pick up the pieces and get a new Batman project off the ground that they decided that they would green-light whatever project suited them most. And though it was Schumacher's idea originally to pursue a live action Year One adaptation, the studio felt it best to look into other directors. Because the film was never officially greenlit, production never went underway. However, there were several names tossed around about who would star in the film. The list included George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, and Alicia Silverstone reprising their roles as Batman, Robin, and Batgirl, respectively; Nicolas Cage, Steve Buscemi, Ewan McGregor, and Jeff Goldblum were all rumored for the Scarecrow, Madonna as Harley Quinn, and Martin Short as the Mad Hatter. Though fans have been clamoring for a live action Harley Quinn, I doubt they would have been satisfied with Madonna in the role, and with Schumacher back at the helm, Batman Triumphant would have done nothing productive for the franchise he helped derail. Interestingly enough, Christopher Nolan would eventually use the Scarecrow as the main antagonist in Batman Begins, and needless to say, the character was in far better hands there than he would have been in 1999.
And there you have it: 10 superhero films that (thankfully) never made it to the big screen. Were there others that deserved to be on this list that I failed to mention? And would you have liked to see any of these actually come to fruition? Even if they would have been complete disasters, there's no denying that they may have been interesting to watch. Let us know what you thought in the comments below!