Cancelled 'Batman vs Superman' started with Alfred’s funeral, only got darker

Oscar winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has opened up about his script for the planned Batman vs Superman in the early 00s, which was ultimately scrapped by Warner Bros.

Not only was Wolfgang Petersen attached to direct the film, but Colin Farrell and Jude Law had been cast as Batman and Superman, respectively, too, and the cast and crew were in prep for production when it was cancelled.

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During a recent conversation with Collider, Goldsman recalled his take on the DC characters, calling the planned Batman vs Superman “the darkest thing you’ve ever seen.

“It started with Alfred’s funeral and Bruce has fallen in love and renounced being Batman, the Joker kills his wife, and then you discover it was all a lie. Just that the love itself was constructed by the Joker to break [Bruce].”

Goldsman, who was brought on to write Batman vs Superman after Se7en scribe Andrew Kevin Walker had created the original draft, acknowledges that releasing the dark and twisted comic-book movie always seemed like a long shot.

Especially as the script didn’t look like it was going to fully translate to the screen.

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“It was a time where you would be able to get these sort of stories together in script form but they couldn’t quite land in the world. Somehow, the expectations of the object — whether they be audience or corporate or directorial — it wasn’t landing quite in the way I think we imagined when we put them on the page.”

Of course, Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice did ultimately allow the two superheroes to share the big-screen together. But unfortunately many believe that the 2016 blockbuster failed to actually do the icons justice.