5 Cancelled Superhero Movies That Would Have Made Billions

5. Batman: Year One

It might have been the best Batman movie ever, and yet... Batman: Year One was the ill-fated attempt by director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) to bring the infamous Frank Miller comic book to the big screen; it was a dark, mean and cynical take on the iconic character, and one that Warner Bros. ultimately decided to shelve for fear that that the hardcore nature would drive people away. Before Christopher Nolan decided to render his own Batman films in something resembling "the real world," Aronofsky set out to do the same with Year One. He wanted to make a Batman flick that felt grounded in reality, and - during the early stages - cited classic films such as Taxi Driver, Serpico and The French Connection as major inspirations. The original Year One comic book hones in on Bruce Wayne during - who'd have guessed? - his first year operating as the Batman. Aronofsky's script (available to read online) refuses to buy into the idea of Batman as a superhero for all ages to enjoy: it's a sleazy, hard-boiled take on the material, crammed with lowlifes and prostitutes.

Year One wouldn't necessarily have made a billion dollars had it been released pre-Nolan (though positive word of mouth could have ensured that it did), but now? Almost definitely. Dark and gritty is what people want from their Batman movies, and with a controversial auteur like Aronofsky at the helm, there's very little doubting Year One's box office chops. Eventually Aronofsky said of the project: "I think Warners always knew it would never be something they could make." Later on, they sort of did - but Batman Begins was only a fraction as dark and bloody as the movie that Aronofsky once set out to make.