Acclaimed Director Admits to Not Taking Batman Movie Seriously (& Reveals Surprising Casting)

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In the realm of blockbuster superhero films, movies that aren’t produced sometimes become equally iconic, and Darren Aronofsky’s proposed Batman film is no different. Way back in 2000, as his career was blossoming, Warner Bros. tapped Aronofsky to write and direct a Batman movie that has intrigued fans for years, even though it never advanced beyond the planning stages. For over two decades now, Aronofsky has fielded questions about this project, but on Monday, while promoting his new film Caught Stealing, he confessed that he never anticipated the movie would actually get made. Interestingly enough, Aronofsky admitted that he took the job solely to secure funding for his own film, The Fountain, which unfortunately failed at the box office and received mixed reviews from both audiences and critics.

At around 28 years old, Aronofsky introduced his first feature film, “Pi,” which was followed swiftly by the critically-acclaimed drama, “Requiem for a Dream.” These consecutive triumphs placed Aronofsky in high demand within Hollywood. In a recent interview on Monday, podcaster Josh Horowitz hypothesized that it was around this time when Aronofsky started receiving proposals to create “popcorn films.

Aronofsky stated that when Batman appeared, he was completely engrossed in The Fountain project. He admitted he never took the Batman opportunity seriously and was fully committed to making The Fountain instead. Asked about collaborating with comic book legend Frank Miller, Aronofsky confirmed they wrote a script together. However, his plan was to create an outrageous, eccentric film about love and the quest for eternal youth. He believed that if he was involved in Batman, it might grant him the chance to make this unconventional film, which is essentially what happened.

Despite Aronofsky’s undivided attention being on a gritty and raw Batman project with Miller, he believed Warner Bros. might not have proceeded with it. He explained, “The Batman we conceptualized together – or scripted – was quite rough-around-the-edges, more like a duct tape production. It wasn’t aimed at promoting Batmobiles and such. I believe I wasn’t the ideal choice for the job at that time. The era of R-rated superhero films hadn’t fully bloomed yet; they needed to first release several superhero movies before they’d consider an R-rated one, like some that came later.

Year One,” and it aimed to restart the Batman movie series. However, Warner Bros. was still considering another sequel that would follow the pattern of the previous four movies. Moreover, there were differences in casting preferences between Aronofsky and the studio. He reminisced, “Notably, I suggested Joaquin Phoenix, but they favored Freddie Prinze Jr., so the atmosphere and trends were quite distinct back then.

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2025-08-25 18:42