10 Things You Didn’t Know About Darren Aronofsky’s Canceled Batman: Year One Movie

Batman is one of the most popular DC superheroes and superheroes in general. He first appeared in the comics all the way back in 1939 and ever since then, comic book fans could have read thousands of his adventures. Batman: Year One is one of the most significant storylines and it shows Batman’s beginning.

There have been multiple attempts and plan to adapt the story into a live-action film. But the most significant one is no doubt the version by the acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky. In Aronofsky’s hands, the iconic story could have been truly fascinating. Here are 10 facts you didn’t know about the canceled Batman: Year One movie by Darren Aronofsky.

10 Same Tragedy, Different Result

The most defining moments of Bruce Wayne’s lives came when he was just a boy and he lost his parents who were murdered by a thief right in front of Bruce’s eyes.

That was the moment that haunted Bruce even years later and caused that he became Batman – to not only find his parents’ killer but to also try and make sure that the same fate would never fall on another child. Unlike the comics, though, where Alfred took care of Bruce and they continued to live in the Wayne mansion, the movie’s Bruce would lose his family money and would end up homeless.

9 Not A Butler Anymore

With the exception of his parents, Alfred Pennyworth is the closest to a father figure or a parent little Bruce has once his parents die. And when he grows up and becomes Batman, Alfred is there for him, officially working as Bruce’s butler, but also helping him with his fight against the Gotham villains, however, he can.

In some versions of the comics, Alfred is a former intelligence officer, and he has considerable fighting skills himself. Aronofsky’s Alfred, however, would have been transformed into an African-American man called “Little Al” and would have run a car repair shop, but he’d still act as Bruce’s mentor.

8 Bookish Batman

The fact that Bruce retained his family wealth even after his parents died and continued to live in their family mansion also much later allowed him to travel the world for several years and learn martial arts from various people and mentors.

However, if he did end up abandoned on the streets and would become homeless, he wouldn’t quite have the same possibilities. Instead of going all over the globe to become a fighter, Bruce would learn his fighting skills in a much simpler way – by reading books about various types of combat and then practicing his new knowledge until he’d master the fighting style.

7 Change Of Other Characters

Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth wouldn’t be the only characters whose movie portrayal would differ from the comics in the case of Batman: Year One movie. Commissioner Gordon would still be living in Gotham but trying to figure out how to leave the city in order to protect his pregnant wife from any possible harm that might befall her. His wife would also be named Ann and not Barbara.

Gordon would also have suicidal tendencies, which would be another reason for him to leave the forever dark Gotham. The mafia boss Carmine Falcone wouldn’t appear in the story and would be replaced by another character. And finally, Selina Kyle would be African-American just like Alfred and would have a much bigger part in the story.

6 It’s All About The Cat

Catwoman is one of the oldest and most respected DC female characters. She manages to smoothly cross the line between the good and the bad more than once.

She’s also Batman’s and Bruce Wayne’s biggest love, even though their relationship in the comics is far from perfect. Even so, these two simply belong together – and they would also find a way to each other in Aronofsky’s movie, even though not in the way you might expect. This version of Selina would work as a prostitute and dominatrix under the name of Mistress Selina and she’d fight Bruce in the film and would try to frame him for murder.

5 Batman Casting

Superhero films are immensely popular nowadays, and as such, it’s always a tough choice to pick the right actor for the part, since so many actors and actresses want to play an iconic character from the comics.

Even in the past when superhero films weren’t riding quite the same wave as they are today, it was still difficult to get the right person to play the caped crusader. However, Darren Aronofsky has clearly stated that he wanted Joaquin Phoenix to play Batman. This information tidbit is now even more precious since Phoenix played Joker in the last year’s highly-appraised film Joker.

4 Drawing Inspiration From The Classic

One thing can you can certainly say for Darren Aronofsky, whether you personally like his films or not, is that he knows his field’s history. In his original vision for the Batman film he planned to direct, Daronofsky had a brand new version of Batman in mind.

If this version worked out, Clint Eastwood would have played Batman, and the film would be partially shot in Tokyo which would represent Gotham. Aronofsky drew his inspiration from classic films such as The French Connection and Death Wish. Once it became clear that Aronofsky would adapt the Batman: Year One comic, he decided to use Taxi Driver and its main hero as an inspiration for his film’s Bruce Wayne.

3 Superhero Nickname

Choosing the right superhero name is an important part of the process of becoming a costumed crime-fighter. The best choice is to pick a name that either has a personal meaning for you, represents your values, the things you stand for or manages to instill fear in the hearts of your enemies if that’s the effect you want to go for.

Batman’s superhero name belongs to all three categories. In Aronofsky’s film, though, he would have gotten his name in a different way – from his dad’s ring with the initials TW – Thomas Wayne. When Bruce would punch a criminal, the ring would leave a mark similar to a bat, and that’s how he’d gain his name.

2 Brutal Batman

If you know Frank Miller and are familiar with this work, then you’re also probably aware that Miller’s comic books (or rather graphic novels) were among the main influences which managed to transform the face of the superhero comics in the 80s.

After the campy 60s, Miller and his contemporaries brought darkness into the comics and a more realistic portrayal of the superhero life. Yet when Miller worked with Aronofsky and was asked to write a script for the film, he found out that Afronosky had an even darker version of Batman in mind than the one that appeared in Miller’s work.

1 Why It Didn’t Happen

As it quickly becomes obvious from all the facts and pieces of trivia mentioned above, Darren Aronofsky’s Batman: Year One would have been a Batman film like no other. Whether the fans would like it or not, it’d probably be talked about to this day. So the big question remains: Why was the film canceled?

Were, for one, the Warner Bros executives weren’t so thrilled about using the comic book but removing a lot of key aspects of Batman’s character from the story. The studio was also scared that the film would be too dark and violent and would get the R rating, which basically means that kids and young people wouldn’t be able to go to the cinemas to watch it. So, in the end, it was all about timing, since nowadays R-rated superhero films no longer seem to be a problem.

About The Author

Kath Leroy
(523 Articles Published)

Kath Leroy is a writer at Screen Rant. She also publishes in a number of Czech magazines. She works as an actress and appeared in feature films, short films, as well as TV series. Kath has loved movies, TV, and literature ever since she was a child and her father first played Star Trek for her. Since she has a background in writing genre fiction and screenplays, Kath enjoys fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero films and shows above all – however, she likes to watch films of all genres.

Visit Kath Leroy’s blog for her articles about culture, acting life as well as other topics, follow her on Twitter and on Instagram as @girlartistgeek or contact her directly at [email protected]

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