Batman and Superman are two of DC Comics’ biggest characters who have had an endless amount of TV shows and films adapted for more than 20 years now. Several actors have had the opportunity to bring the World’s Finest to life both in live-action and animation. Some adaptations have been better done than others, with more versions coming in years to come. However, there are plenty of projects surrounding Batman and Superman that have been attempted at. For whatever reasons, announced films have not made it from pitch to screen. Some of these movies have instead lived on to be talked about endlessly with interviews featuring involved talent giving snippets of what could have been.
While the Man of Steel may be on a break in the film world, Superman and Lois are coming to The CW while Robert Pattinson will be suiting up as the Dark Knight in The Batman. Looking at what is coming up for the two DC icons, these are 5 Batman films as well as 5 Superman movies that got canceled.
Ben Affleck’s The Batman
Despite Pattinson’s film having the same title, there was almost Ben Affleck’s version of The Batman. After making his DCEU debut, Affleck was originally slated to direct and write his own Batman film.
But as the DCEU was going through the motions all the way to Justice League, Affleck’s future with the upcoming picture became less and less of a reality. From dropping out as director until departing the franchise altogether, Affleck’s version of the film instead became the one that Matt Reeves will direct with Pattinson in the role.
Superman III: Supergirl
While Supergirl had her own film, the Girl of Steel was originally going to be in Superman III. The third installment in the Christopher Reeve-led franchise had producer Ilya Salkind pitch a version with Kara Zor-El. That treatment also featured Superman foes Mr. Mxyzptlk and Brainiac which tied in more of the DC world into the franchise.
However, the story had a bizarre element where Brainiac had found a baby Kara in the same way that Clark was found by Martha and Jonathan. Acting as a surrogate father to Kara, Brainiac would eventually fall in love with her. But this is where it would have gotten weirder as the film would have revealed Kara to be in love with Superman. Even though this version of Kara wouldn’t be related to Clark, just knowing that they are canonically cousins would have made this a weird Superman film.
Batman: DarKnight
In 1998, Stephen Wise and Lee Shapiro pitched Batman: DarKnight that was inspired by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns to Warner Bros. Reportedly, the story would have featured a Bruce who would have given up on being the Batman. In the film, Scarecrow would have been one of the two big bads as he would have helped unleash the villain Man-Bat.
This would have forced Bruce to come out of retirement as Gotham believed Man-Bat to be the even more violent return of Batman. Despite Warner Bros. executives at the time like the idea and ordered a script, it ended up being passed on by a new executive that came much later.
Superman V
While the box office and critical failure that was Superman IV: The Quest of Peace became the end of the Reeve franchise, a fifth film was attempted at. Prior to the film’s release, a fifth installment was being considered to be produced by Cannon Films, but the company’s bankruptcy caused the rights to go back to Alexander and Ilya Salkinds.
Little is known about what Superman V would have been about, but rumors suggested that Brainiac or the bottled city of Kandor was going to be heavily part of the story.
Batman Unchained
Before Batman and Robin came out, Warner Bros. was actually doing early works on a fifth film in the series. It would have been Joel Schumacher’s third film he directed in the Batman franchise. Mark Protosevich wrote a screenplay that would have starred Scarecrow as the main baddie. A secondary antagonist would have also been in the film through Harley Quinn.
But it would be a different take on the DC fan-favorite as she would have been depicted as Joker’s long-lost daughter who was now back to avenge her father. But when Batman and Robin happened, it caused the studio to cancel the idea of a fifth film altogether as they began looking towards doing a reboot.
Superman: Flyby
J.J. Abrams almost got to do his own version of Superman in the early 2000s. Pitched as an origin story, it would have featured Clark having to battle forces of Krypton, but with a twist. Instead of blowing up like in most versions, Krypton still existed but was besieged through a civil war between Jor-El and his brother Kata-Zor. As Clark becomes Superman on Earth, it would have pulled Kryptonian forces to the planet, resulting in Clark’s death.
But, obviously, he would be back to stop them. Through a long process of trying to find the right actors and facing budget costs, Superman: Flyby never got into production.
Batman: Year One
Darren Aronofsky’s Batman: Year One is one of the more famous canceled Batman projects of all time. Working together with Frank Miller who had written the book of the same name, this would be a reimagined take on the character.
Envisioned as an origin story, Bruce would not be a rich playboy billionaire and would take an even more grounded approach to become the Caped Crusader. Warner Bros. eventually scrapped the idea and later rebooted the Batman franchise with Christopher Nolan.
Superman Returns Sequel
Originally, a sequel to Superman Returns was in the plans for Warner Bros. A 2009 date was set by the studio but due to director availability and story issues, Warner Bros. eventually canceled it altogether. However, Brandon Routh would later get to play his Superman again in the ongoing Arrowverse crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Batman Beyond
Terry McGinnis almost got his own live-action film as Warner Bros. had an interest in doing a Batman Beyond movie. Director Boaz Yakin along with Neal Stephenson and Paul Dini worked on a Batman Beyond script in August 2000 that was turned in in July 2001. But as the studio was exploring other opportunities for Batman, this project got stuck on hold and eventually canceled.
Superman Lives
Tim Burton’s Superman Lives is perhaps the most famous canceled Superman film. Started with Kevin Smith doing a treatment for the film, Superman Lives was going to be inspired by The Death and Return of Superman. Nicholas Cage got cast as the Man of Steel and Burton was later hired to direct, but had Smith’s script rewritten. But what followed was a massive development hell for the project that would last more than 3 years until being scrapped altogether.
