Batman Meets Godzilla and 3 Other Bruce Wayne Movies We Never Saw

Over the course of nearly a hundred years, the image of Batman on the big screen has undergone many changes, from Adam West's pretentious version to Christopher Nolan's realistic interpretation.

There could have been many more, but as with any popular character, for every Batman movie that has reached the screens, there are many more that have remained on paper.

1. Batman Meets Godzilla

In 1962, the Japanese studio Toho released King Kong vs. Godzilla, which was a huge success. Riding that wave, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa came up with the idea of another crossover – only this time with Bruce Wayne.

Sekizawa's concept included Robin and Gordon in addition to Batman himself. They would fight Godzilla with the help of the Batmobile, Batcopter and Batcycle.

However, all of these ideas remained on paper. Literally a few months after Sekizawa proposed the idea, the show starring Adam West began airing. It is still not known for sure if the scriptwriter managed to contact DC Comics with his proposal or if the project did not go beyond his personal initiative.

2. Batman Continues

Batman Returns was not originally intended to be the last film about the Dark Knight to be directed by Tim Burton. The director had publicly stated that he wanted to make a third film and thus form a trilogy. Batman Continues was chosen as the working title.

If the movie had been made, it would have had a completely different cast than the Batman Forever movie that was made instead. With Burton at the helm, Michael Keaton would likely have reprised his lead role, and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman would have returned.

But all these plans were ruined by the fact that Batman Returns was not a success: its budget was almost double that of the first part, and its box office was $150 million less. It was by no means a failure, but the studio was unhappy with such a significant shortfall.

3. Batman: DarKnight

In the late 1990s, a script called Batman: DarKnight was in development. Its writers wanted to take the franchise in a darker direction.

According to the plot, Bruce Wayne realized he had lost his ability to inspire fear in criminals and went into self-imposed exile. Robin also gave up fighting the criminal world of Gotham and enrolled at the university.

The main villain was Scarecrow, who infected Dr. Kirk Langstrom with a virus that turned him into Man-Bat. The citizens mistook the monster for Batman, and Bruce had to return to Gotham to clear his name.

The studio seriously considered this script for some time. Development continued until 2000, when the project was canceled.

4. Batman Beyond

In 1999, the animated series Batman Beyond began airing. It was very popular and it is not surprising that the studio thought about adapting its plot for a full-length movie.

The first version of the script was presented in the summer of 2001. It is known that the authors kept the main plot of the animated series and decided to tell the story of high school student Terry, who fought crime in futuristic Gotham under the leadership of the aged Bruce Wayne.

However, things never went further and the project was soon canceled.