Ben Affleck's Batman movie was about 'insanity', Batman's 'dark side' and Arkham Asylum

Ben Affleck had some grand – and pretty dark – plans for his Batman movie.

At one time, the man who played Bruce Wayne in arguably the least affectionately received iteration of the DC Comics character, was all ready to write, star in and direct a standalone Batman movie.

But it never happened. Perhaps he was deflated by the critical maulings Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League and Suicide Squad received.

Read more: Batman casting went right down to the wire

Whatever the case, his dour on-screen Batman appeared to reflect his attitude towards it off-screen, and instead of making a Batman movie himself, he walked away from the franchise. Much to the heart-break of his son.

Now his cinematographer Robert Richardson, who is also Quentin Tarantino's go-to lensman, has revealed some of the potential subject matter that was being thrown around by Affleck.

He told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that his movie would have focussed on 'insanity', and notably Arkham Asylum.

“Well, he was going more into the insanity aspects,” Richardson said.

“So I think you would’ve seen something a little darker than what we’ve seen in the past and more into the individual, who’s inside Batman. What element may be sane and what element may actually not be sane.

“So he was entering into a little more of the Arkham, as you know, he’s going into where you keep everyone who was bad, everyone that shifted and Batman.”

Read more: Pattinson confirmed for The Batman

Arkham is the hospital for the criminally insane that most of Batman's adversaries either arrive on the scene having broken out of, or end up in once Batman has finished with them.

In the comic books, it is a dark and dangerous place, and was depicted in Christopher Nolan's first Batman movie, Batman Begins, where Cillian Murphy's Dr. Jonathan Crane – aka Scarecrow – is a practitioner, before going mad and unleashing a fear-inducing toxin on Gotham.

Sadly, we'll never see Affleck's interpretation of Arkham.

Instead, Planet of the Apes reboot director Matt Reeves is bringing his The Batman to the screen, with Robert Pattinson taking on the cowl.

Read More: Ben Affleck's Batman was the most violent movie Dark Knight yet

And if that wasn't enough, we have Todd Phillips' Joker to look forward to too, with Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime.

So quite enough darkness to go around. Joker arrives in the UK on October 4, while The Batman is scheduled for June, 2021.