21 Batman Movies That Almost Happened

3. Wolfgang Petersen€™'s Batman VS Superman

The other alternative to Aronofsky's Batman was Se7en writer Andrew Kevin Walker's Batman Vs Superman - the source of the tongue-in-cheek poster reference in I Am Legend - returning to an idea that was toyed with in the '90s before Christopher Reeve's catastrophic injury stopped it before it even got going.

Batman & Robin screenwriter Akiva Goldsman adapted the treatment into a screenplay in June, 2002 for veteran filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen to direct as a semi-continuation of the Burton/Schumacher universe, though most of the supporting cast had been wiped out, though The Joker was once more alive. The Clown Prince Of Crime in fact killed Bruce Wayne's new wife, Elizabeth on their honeymoon, leading to him taking the cowl out of retirement, and falling into a dark depression. Superman - Batman's former best man - attempts to stop his friend killing The Joker, and Wayne turns his attentions to Kal-El, incensed, blaming him for Elizabeth's death and leading to the epic face-off of the title. Somewhat inevitably, they resolve their issues by the end and team up to take down The Joker and Lex Luthor.

Inspired by the success of Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, Petersen looked at upcoming actors, taking in Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell before offering Superman to Josh Hartnett and approaching Christian Bale for Batman - who openly admitted preferring Aronofsky's project. Warners disagreed, shelved Year One, and set a release for 2004, but lost Petersen to Troy, and the film was cancelled in favour of concentrating on Aronofsky's project and JJ Abrams Superman: Flyby.