BATMAN: YEAR ONE - 10 Things To Know About Darren Aronofsky Twisted (Scrapped) Take On The Dark Knight

Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) once teamed with Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns) to adapt Batman: Year One. It never happened, but we've rounded up 10 incredible facts about this unmade project...

By JoshWilding - Feb 10, 2024 10:02 AM EST

Filed Under: Batman

After Batman & Robin bombed way back in 1997, it was clear a new direction was needed for the Caped Crusader's franchise. Warner Bros. went through quite a few iterations, with one of the most noteworthy being Batman: Year One from director Darren Aronofsky and comic book writer Frank Miller.

On the surface, adapting the latter's critically acclaimed comic of the same name sounds like a guaranteed recipe for success.

However, both Aronofsky and Miller decided to take some huge liberties with the source material, with a homeless Bruce Wayne, a suicidal Jim Gordon, an unexpected villain, and violence that will make you wince (if you thought Ben Affleck's Batman was brutal, you can multiply that by 10 for this version of the hero).

This still might have been a fun film, though, so to take a deep dive into Batman: Year One, simply click the "Next" button below!

10. A Massively Different Take On Catwoman

Batman's had many a love interest over the years, but Selina Kyle remains the most iconic. That dynamic was explored by Matt Reeves in The Batman, and Aronofsky had similar plans.

Well, sort of.

In Year One, Selina was to be depicted as a prostitute and dominatrix who works under the name Mistress Selina. Depicted as an African-American woman, she was to be one of the first people Batman saved. However, the script depicts her knocking the hero out, and leaving him next to the dead body of the corrupt cop who'd been beating her before the vigilante intervened.

Inspired by Batman, Selina later dons her own costume, and soon grows close to the man who once saved her.

9. Homeless Bruce Wayne

In the comics, Bruce Wayne's parents are gunned down in front of him, leaving the family butler, Alfred Pennyworth, to raise the boy.

There was no Alfred in Aronofsky's plans, however, and poor Bruce would have been left penniless and homeless in the wake of Thomas and Martha Wayne's brutal murder. With no fortune at his disposal, Bruce's dynamic was massively different in this film, as was his transformation into Batman.

Everyone knows the Dark Knight's origin story, so Aronofsky deserves some kudos for trying to shake things up.

Bruce wouldn't stay on the streets for long, however, as he'd find a new mentor in car repair shop owner, Little Al...

8. "Little Al," Batman's New Mentor

Before being inspired to fight crime by his encounter with Mistress Selina, Bruce would have crossed paths with the aforementioned Little Al.

The owner of a car repair shop, he'd have taken the orphan under his wing, and was set to be portrayed by an African-American actor. Bruce becomes well-versed in mechanics, and it's with Al's help that he manages to build the Batmobile.

A Lincoln Continental, this "Batmobile" had an exposed school bus engine, and doesn't sound all that different from the vehicle we saw Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader take control of in The Batman.

Al was obviously meant to be a surrogate for Alfred, and while he didn't have any fighting experience, he clearly helped this Bruce come up with his weaponry and vehicle.

7. Learning To Fight

With no fortune to lean back on, Bruce Wayne obviously could travel the world to hone his skills.

He's an orphan taken under the wing of a working-class mechanic, so heading overseas to be trained by the likes of Ra's al Ghul was understandably not part of this screenplay for Year One.

Instead, Bruce read books about combat, learning from those, and practising for hours afterwards. We're not entirely sure that's the best way to become an expert fighter, but Aronofsky was determined to ground this story in reality, and make Batman a self-made vigilante.

By now, we know why Bruce becomes Batman, but the how is another story altogether.

6. The Birth Of The Bat-Man

The brothel Mistress Selina worked in was not only within Bruce's eyeline from his home with Little Al, but also based in the now dilapidated theater he visited with his parents before their murder.

Inspired to now protect his home, Bruce finally opens the one thing his father left him: a silver signet ring in an envelope with the initials "T.W." on it.

Beating up a criminal, that ring leaves a mark which looks a little like a bat on the crook's face, earning the vigilante the "Bat-Man" moniker. Like his comic book counterpart, he dons a costume in an effort to strike fear into those who target the innocents in Gotham City.

As weird as this film sometimes gets, this sounds like a pretty decent origin story!

5. Extreme Violence

If what we've told you about Year One reminds you of anything, it should be 2019's Joker.

Tonally, it sounds extremely similar, while the extremely grounded, realistic take on Batman's creation sounds a lot like something you'd expect to see in the world Todd Phillips created.

The script was definitely R-Rated, and not even "Bat-Man" himself emerges unscathed. In one early fight, his teeth are knocked out, forcing the wannabe vigilante to wear dentures for the rest of the film.

The main source of Batman's frustrations is GCPD Commissioner Gillian Loeb, a corrupt cop who secretly rules over Gotham City's criminals...and steals Bruce's fortune.

4. The Film's Villain

Loeb is a character from the Batman: Year One comic, but uses his influence here to take everything that belongs to the Wayne family (hence why poor Bruce ends up on the streets).

There are no colorful costumed villains in this screenplay, and no sign of Carmine Falcone either.

Instead, everything revolves around Loeb, a crooked Commissioner who definitely gets what's coming to him. Learning he was responsible for the murder of his parents, Batman throws a knife through his eye, and carves a "Z" (for Zorro) in his cheek.

This comes after Loeb taunts Batman about his code, and while it does initially look like he's killed his tormentor, it's later revealed that the criminal survived. At the same time, Batman manages to restore Bruce Wayne's fortune, and he and Little Al later move into Wayne Manor together.

3. The Dark Knight's Weaponry

Had a sequel happened, it's likely Aranofsky might have leaned a little heavier into the comics, depicting a Batman who now had the money to spend on advanced weaponry and tech.

In this film, however, the Batcave was based in an abandoned subway tunnel, while the Dark Knight's weaponry was very much grounded in reality.

On the Batsuit, he had razor blades on his gauntlets (an idea Catwoman borrowed for her costume), and made use of chemical weapons. That's not too different to how Batman was portrayed in his earliest appearances, though we don't remember that Batman using white phosphorous to burn his foes!

This Batman was a beast, though, and forced one drug deal to eat the product he was selling.

2. A Suicidal Jim Gordon

Detective Jim Gordon was a big part of Year One's screenplay, but some fans might not have been happy with the way he was sometimes depicted on screen.

A broken man after spending four years working in Gotham City, he's keen to leave town for the sake of his pregnant wife.

Jim reluctantly helps The Bat-Man and Catwoman take Loeb down and is, of course, the only honest cop in Gotham. He at one point believes Harvey Dent might be the vigilante, but later reels off his "I’m practically blind without my glasses" line from the comics when Batman is unmasked in front of him.

At one point, however, he sits on the toilet and puts a gun in his mouth, contemplating suicide.

1. Why The Film Didn't Happen

Batman: Year One is a film that wouldn't have appealed to everyone, but it certainly managed to do something new with the character, while putting a fresh spin on his origin story.

So, why was it never made?

This project came at a time when Warner Bros. was still attempting to figure out what to do with the iconic DC superhero, and understandably balked at a take which was heavily R-Rated and a significant departure from how Batman is portrayed in the comics.

Aronofsky and the studio had vastly different ideas for who should play Bruce (Joaquin Phoenix vs. Freddie Prinze Jr.), and the filmmaker was far from a safe bet at the time. As a result, the decision was made to head in a different direction, and that was Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. We did, however, finally get an R-Rated movie featuring the hero in March 2022.

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46 Comments

1 2

AC1 - 2/10/2024, 10:39 AM

I still think this would've been too radical a departure for a film adaptation of Batman, especially back when it was first planned, but I really wish Aronofsky would/could team up with DC to turn it into a graphic novel/limited series

ObserverIO - 2/10/2024, 11:20 AM

@AC1 - After the Joker though, this actually takes way less liberties. Compared to Joker, this movie is quite faithful to the source material.

A lot of it is stuff we've seen in Nolan's Batman (losing all his money die to being declared dead in Batman Begins and due to Bane's Wall Street meddlings in The Dark Knight Rises) and in Reeves' Batman (the subway Batcave, the grittier approach).

Also the realistic weaponry and Selina as a hooker is now considered classic Batman, even if it might have felt disorienting just a few years after Batman & Robin.

AC1 - 2/10/2024, 12:01 PM

@ObserverIO - true I guess it could also work as an Elseworlds Batman movie but I feel like we've already got more than enough Batman on the big screen over the next few years

ObserverIO - 2/10/2024, 2:49 PM

@AC1 - Too much. Way too many Batmen right now, lol.

Deadinside - 2/27/2024, 10:26 AM

@ObserverIO - 😬 Silence thy tongue, for thou spaketh blasphemous words!
I declare thee a heretic who should be banished from our land, forthwith...!☮😜

ObserverIO - 2/27/2024, 11:47 AM

@Deadinside - What I meant was... more Batman. We need more Batman, please, lol.

Deadinside - 2/27/2024, 12:20 PM

@ObserverIO - lol...😉

BobGarlen - 2/10/2024, 10:47 AM

I'd love to see this retro-fitted as a sequel/spin-off to Joker, it feels like it would have fit that world. I'd love to see at least an animated version of the movie.

Thing94 - 2/10/2024, 10:51 AM

Thank heavens this didn't happen

DudeGuy - 2/10/2024, 10:52 AM

I remember thinking Begins was pretty dark when it came out. And while it took liberties with a few elements of Batman’s lore, it was ultimately incredibly faithful to the point where I thought “it’ll never get better than this.” I really can’t imagine going from Batman & Robin to something like this. Not just dark, but pitch black and barely recognizable to the source material. While I’m glad this movie never happened, the idea itself is pretty insane that I’m always intrigued to hear a little more about it, but I’d especially love to know where Aronofsky was in his life at this point. What was going on in his personal life and what was going through his head, for this to be the ultimate Batman story he wanted to tell.

Th3Batman - 2/10/2024, 11:29 AM

@DudeGuy - "I’d especially love to know where Aronofsky was in his life at this point. What was going on in his personal life and what was going through his head, for this to be the ultimate Batman story he wanted to tell ?"

Nothing, he just wanted to get a reaction out of people.

DudeGuy - 2/10/2024, 11:59 AM

@Th3Batman - yeah, most likely

Forthas - 2/10/2024, 10:59 AM

Christopher Nolan gave us the best and most definitive Batman films story arc and did so without weird changes to the base mythology. As a result I have no interest in any other iterations as none of them come close to Nolan's version.

With the definitive take on Batman in their library Warner Brothers failed to capitalize on it and the carnage, misery and chaos that has plagued the studio is a direct result.

JustAWaffle - 2/10/2024, 11:48 AM

@Forthas - it’s the definitive version so far. But there’s always something that makes me feel like it could be better. Like the grounded tone mixed with a little more of the fantastical. That’s what I’m waiting for.

Forthas - 2/10/2024, 1:22 PM

@JustAWaffle - I actually think that the Christopher Nolan version accomplished all of that. People do not seem to understand everything fantastical that occurred in the Nolan films BECAUSE Nolan was so effective at bringing in the film's audience to the point where they suspended their disbelief. For example, in Batman Begins the fear toxin, microwave emitter, and the Tumbler's jumping capability are ALL fantastical. In the Dark Knight, the sky hook stunt to capture Lau, the sonar equipment, and a man with exposed facial organs cannot happen. Also in the Dark Knight Rises, the leg brace that restored Batman's use of his leg, Bane's strength, and the Bat (wing) ability to evade missiles are again the stuff of fantasy.

In my opinion, the Nolan films are completely underrated despite the high regard that people give it. Another example is the false notion that the Nolan Batman did not use his detective skills and somehow the film "The Batman" was a better representation of Batman as a detective. But when I re-watched The Dark Knight, I counted five instances where Batman used his detective skills versus seven instances in The Batman - not that much difference. Furthermore, when Nolan's Batman applied his detective skills, he used the information to stop the Joker's plans in some if not all of those instances. Whereas, in The Batman, he NEVER stops the Riddler from accomplishing what he intended to do except in one instance - sort of. Yet, the Reeve's film is considered the superior Batman as detective film. it is not!

McMurdo - 2/10/2024, 2:15 PM

@Forthas - if he wasn't so dependent on Luscious for his toys.....I'd agree. and he wasn't really a detective. But Pattinson also is a bad detective at least thus far. is argue BB and TDK can be interchanged for best and then The Batman.....but all of them pale in comparison to Mask of the Phantasm. That film is truly definitive.

JustAWaffle - 2/10/2024, 5:08 PM

@Forthas - I agree with all of that besides the fantastical. It had tech level stuff that went above the current technology we have today, but there was a movie logic that made it feel like the real world.

It’s the grounding of Ras Al Gul (where his long age was left to a legacy than the Lazarus pit), and things like that that I felt was lacking. I’d like to see the likes of Ivy, Freeze, Croc, Clayface etc with that same level of grounding that Nolan brought to the table.

Forthas - 2/10/2024, 8:48 PM

@McMurdo - How could he build all of the gadgets he has and still have time to fight crime? That is unrealistic! According to this article...

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/aircraft-building/builderresources/getting-started/planning-articles/getting-started-in-aircraft-building#:~:text=Average%20building%20times%20for%20most,upon%20the%20type%20of%20airplane.

...it takes 800 to 2000 hours to build a kit airplane. So imagine how long it would take to build the Bat (wing). Not to mention the Batmobile, bat pod, his suit. They did show him making his throwing darts and modyfying his suit which is all anyone could ask one person to do and still fight crime and rum a multi billion dollar corporation.

I will re-watch Mask and consider what kind of detective he is and render my verdict at some point. I did not pay attention to it as much as I did the Dark Knight after it was alleged The Batman was the superior Batman detective film. Stay tuned!!!!

Forthas - 2/10/2024, 9:06 PM

@JustAWaffle - @JustAWaffle - I love the fact that the extremely supernatural is left up in the air. It is not clear how old Ras Al Ghul is. In the film Ras says that he founded the League, but in another exchange with Batman he states they have been doing their "cleansing" for thousands of years. I think Nolan purposely does not address the question head on and allows people to come to their own conclusion giving reasons to believe both. Someone once asked me how could one ground magic in a comic book film. My response was along the same lines...to make it mysterious and unanswered. The closest film that I can come up with that did it pretty well is the film "Now You See Me" where the audience is never quite sure if the magicians can perform real magic or all of it are elaborate tricks ....and it is never ANSWERED. It is up to the viewer to decide. I would do a Zatana or Dr. Fate film along those lines as opposed to magic wands and sparkles.

McMurdo - 2/11/2024, 6:37 PM

@Forthas - Batman can build his toys, run a company, and fight crime. But I agree Nolan films top Reeves'.

Th3Batman - 2/10/2024, 11:27 AM

A lot of these changes scream "I want to piss people off", so I'm glad it didn't happen. It's one thing to have a unique vision for a film, another to make changes just to get a reaction out of people.

McMurdo - 2/10/2024, 12:18 PM

This sounds utterly awful.

ModHaterSLADE - 2/10/2024, 12:33 PM

For an animated Elseworlds offering I wouldn't have mind this, even though even for comics, Batman becoming a master fighter by reading books just sounds ridiculous.