Maximus Rex
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Batman: Year One (2000)
At this point, director Joel Schumacher had been bounced around from project to project as Warner Bros. seemingly couldn’t make their mind up on the direction of the series. After another potential Batman film – Batman: DarKnight (that “K” is not a typo), involving the Scarecrow and Man-Bat — fizzled out, Warner sets its sights on another Batman graphic novel: Batman Year One.
With a story-line similar to Batman Begins, Schumacher pushed for a prequel to Tim Burton’s Batman using the graphic novel Batman Year One as a last push to get a Batman film made. While the studios were fond of the idea — they’d later try another version of Year One before settling on Batman Begins — Warner was ready to push Schumacher out the door, to the delight of Batman fans. Similar to the previous film concept, the comic version of Batman Year One was also adapted into an animated movie.
Darren Aronofsky’s Batman: Year One (2002)
With Schumacher pushed out and Warner Bros. still keen on the idea of Year One, the studio picked a young Darren Aronofsky to helm Batman: Year One following the success of his most recent film: Requiem for a Dream. Aronofsky worked closely with graphic novelist Frank Miller to create what is likely the most radical Batman script ever written.
While Aronofsky and Miller apparently didn’t work on the concept art shown above, it reportedly comes from Warner and depicts a general direction of the film (check out more at Slash Film).
The big changes with Aronofsky’s Batman: Year One begin with the fact that Bruce Wayne does not have the benefit of wealth when his parents are murdered. The planned narrative of the film had been likened to Taxi Driver in which Bruce would slowly become a blood-thirsty superhero meting out increasingly violent justice. The script also had Selena Kyle as a black prostitute who decides to pursue justice after witnessing Batman’s acts and a Gordon character based off of Dirty Harry.
“My pitch was Death Wish or The French Connection meets Batman. In Year One, Gordon was kind of like Serpico, and Batman was kind of like Travis Bickle,” he explains in an excerpt from the book Tales From Development Hell: The Greatest Movies Never Made? written by David Hughes.
The synopsis of the film was as follows, according to the book: “Young Bruce Wayne is found in the street after his parents’ murder, and taken in by ‘Big Al’, who runs an auto repair shop with his son, ‘Little Al’. Driven by a desire for vengeance towards a manifest destiny of which he is only dimly aware, young Bruce (of deliberately indeterminate age) toils day and night in the shop, watching the comings and goings of hookers, johns, pimps and corrupt cops at a sleazy East End cathouse across the street, while chain-smoking detective James Gordon struggles with the corruption he finds endemic among Gotham City police officers of all ranks.”
While the concept is interesting to say the least, Warner Bros. ultimately passed on the project, although Aronofsky and Miller want to convert it into a graphic novel in the future.
Batman vs. Superman (2004)
When Warner passed on Aronofsky’s borderline insane Batman: Year One, it was because they had decided to go with the far more conventional Batman VS Superman idea that Andrew Kevin Walker, who you might know as the writer of Se7en, had pitched to them back in 2001. Batman & Robin screenwriter Akiva Goldsman was chosen to adapt the screenplay with director Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, The Perfect Storm) set to direct.
The plot reportedly revolved around the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent in the wake of Bruce’s fiancee being murdered by the Joker. Bruce’s violent nature begins to take over Batman as Superman is forced to help stop him, fighting somewhere along the way. Of course, they resolve their differences before taking down both the Joker and Lex Luthor.
This film appears to have been the closest to being made of everything on this list. Christian Bale and Josh Hartnett had been offered the roles of Batman and Superman, respectively, and principle photography was set to begin in 2003 with a 2004 release. However, director Peterson ended up leaving for Troy just as shoot dates were lined up, so Warner decided to scrap the project entirely and reboot — which was probably a good move by all involved, except for Peterson, who ended up directing a poorly received movie instead.
And now that the Man of Steel sequel is set to come out in 2015, Warner is thanking their lucky stars they decided to pass.
Justice League: Mortal (2009)
The most recent film that “almost was,” George Miller’s (Mad Max) Justice League: Mortal was being developed around the same time as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was coming out in theaters. If you remember the rumors, the series was planned to occur alongside Nolan’s universe without necessarily crossing over and was meant to go toe-to-toe with Marvel’s (NYSE
IS) The Avengers.While there was no real news regarding the story details, the film had supposedly already cast some of the main roles, including Adam Brody as The Flash, D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Common as Green Lantern, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Armie Hammer as Batman and Teresa Palmer as Talia Al Ghul. If you’re not exactly excited about those names, you’re not the only one. Apparently Miller specifically didn’t choose A-listers for the project, hoping for the actors to grow over the course of the series.
Justice League: Mortal fizzled out in 2010, to the relief of most comic fans, and with the recent news of a Justice League film in 2017, it appears that this specific property is in better hands than it has been for a long time. In fact, Hollywood analysts seem pretty confident that Ben Affleck’s entrance into the franchise as Batman sets him up as director of that Justice League film. Given Affleck’s recent track record as director, that’s probably the best situation Justice League has been in for over a decade.
SHMFH @ The Dark Knight Returns, not being "marketable," then again these are the same muthafuckas that being a flaming faggot at the helm of the Batman franchanise. Y'all that I'm a fanboy purist, but that Aronofsky’s Batman: Year One (if properly executed,) had the potential for GOAT status, especially if they would've had the balls to do an R Rated movie. This project needs to eventually find it's way to DVD.
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Maximus Rex
New member
Theodis;6191390 said:
Dude, I'm not being sarcastic or an asshole, but are you a student of acting and film making? Seriously, because if you don't have an intermediate or advance knowledge of the art of acting, them I feel anybody's opinion on whether was right for this role is rather mute. People are just taking the bad films in his resume, (which unless you're James Dean,) every actor has some. I think if you're going to call the muthafucka out on his acting ability, then you have to take it in it's totality. Everybody keeps mentioning Affleck's wack shit, but they seem to omit Hollywoodland, The Town, and Argo, which everybody agrees are superior films.
Broddie;6192153 said:
Co-sign, unless some G. I. J.O.E. Rise of Cobra casting decisions have been made, we as fanboys really shouldn't question casting decisions simply WE DON'T KNOW! We can tell you about pencilers, inkers, writers, or why Rob Liefeld sucks, but as far as explaining why a muthafucka is right for a particular acting role in a superhero or comic book related property, we're mainly basing our decision on looks. The main reason why I think that Ryan Gosling should play Barry Allen or Aquaman, (especially Aquaman,) is because he looks like those two characters.
You would think fanboys learned their lesson about judging a acting ability concerning The Joker. Ledger went so hard with the role, he's the definitive Joker and I fill bad for the next muthafucka who's going to play, how do you out top that, but I digress. Like Broddie said, all of the haters on going to do a 180 if it turns out that Affleck is best Batman ever.
Aronofsky has been turning his Batman story into an Elseworlds graphic novel for the past decade already and still we've seen nothing. I still hope that's being considered cause I really dug that script too. That shit had some serious balls and was at points even much more ambitious as an origin story than Batman Begins was. With all the police corruption and being strictly street leveled with no Scarecrow like characters like the Year One comic book story was.
It was truly the other end of the spectrum Batman & Robin was playing within though so the world may never have been ready for something that drastically different. They still needed a "supervillain" and some fantasy. Too bad so many fanboys were up in arms because of semantics despite the script having a good structure and believable characterizations.
This is why I don't like to associate myself with most fanboys despite being a bigger comic book geek than most of them. Niggas just don't comprehend the concept of an adaptation at all. They keep thinking the word adaptation means "direct translation" and because of that they help derail a lot of promising adaptations with their internet whining before they even get off the ground. People like that are no friends of mine. I prefer watching ballsy shit make it to the big screen then the same old shit I'm used to seeing regarding these characters. Provided the ballsy shit is interesting within itself of course (Ie: Batman Returns and this Year One script).
It was truly the other end of the spectrum Batman & Robin was playing within though so the world may never have been ready for something that drastically different. They still needed a "supervillain" and some fantasy. Too bad so many fanboys were up in arms because of semantics despite the script having a good structure and believable characterizations.
This is why I don't like to associate myself with most fanboys despite being a bigger comic book geek than most of them. Niggas just don't comprehend the concept of an adaptation at all. They keep thinking the word adaptation means "direct translation" and because of that they help derail a lot of promising adaptations with their internet whining before they even get off the ground. People like that are no friends of mine. I prefer watching ballsy shit make it to the big screen then the same old shit I'm used to seeing regarding these characters. Provided the ballsy shit is interesting within itself of course (Ie: Batman Returns and this Year One script).
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Maximus Rex
New member
Broddie;6199809 said:
There's nothing wrong with an adaption, as long as it doesn't change core elements the story arch or the characters. Very few comic-to-movie adaptions are successfully able to pull this off. One of the few movies that did, that immediately comes to mind is Kick Ass. The changes that were made to source material were cool and you didn't trip off of them, (though I still believe that ending in the comic was better than the movie.) and the ending to Watchman the movie was vastly superior to the ending in the comic. I'm sorry, despite the epicness and greatness that was the Watchman that giant squid shit killing off half the population of Manhattan was some wacky shit.
The problem is that instead of getting an adaption that comes up with an original story that maintains the core elements of characters and story arcs that inspired the movies, what we often get is fucked up off bastardization that leaves John Doe Fanboy with the feeling that the executive producer, screenwriter, and director used the concepts in the comic as a vehicle for the bullshit that he couldn't get green lit on his on. Kevin Smith goes into detail about that very subject on the following clip.
Code:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk
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Maximus Rex;6199960 said:
Totally disagree.
Here's the thing though the movie was based around the death and return of Superman. It had Superman dying and it had him coming back wearing a suit that recharges his abilities just like in the comics. Everything else is semantics but the basis is still there. What difference will including a giant spider really make? how is that more offensive than Superman fighting a giant ape in the comic books?
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Maximus Rex
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Code:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98drvSsfKOY
Code:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eikuSjofvqMKevin Smith gleefully gives his breakdowns, analysis, expectations, and predictions for Superman/Batman,[/i ]and the DC cinematic universe.
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Idiopathic Joker
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that Batman Triumphant sounds like some GOAT shit
Splackavelli
New member
SHUT UP!!!!!!!!
DarthRozay
New member
rip.dilla;6205925 said:
Either Dark Knight or Dark Knight Rises. Batman Begins was good, but not the same level as the other two.
My biggest problem with Dark Knight, especially since I watched it right after watching Batman Begins, was recasting Rachel or whatever her name is that dies at the end of Dark Knight. I got used to Katie holmes as her by the end of BB, and then they got annoying ass Maggie Gyllenhall in Dark Knight.
atribecalledgabi
Moderator
Copper;6208683 said:
gif is fuckin hilarious. shit will never not be funny
dalyricalbandit
Moderator
"I threw a rock at him"
nawledge_god
New member
Ben Affleck Did A Great Job Playing Himself In Good Will Hunting...That's The Only Thing I'll Give Him Credit...Not A Fan Of His Acting Or His Directing
