Cancelled The Dark Knight Game Adaptation’s Pre-Production Files and Videos Discovered

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Monolith, the studio later known for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, once began developing a video game based on Christopher Nolan’s hit movie, The Dark Knight. This project, called Project Apollo, was ultimately cancelled. Recently, almost a gigabyte of files – including documents and videos from the game’s early development – were found on an old studio hard drive. To preserve this lost work, these files have been uploaded to the Internet Archive.

I’ve been looking at these files, and it looks like they were created between April 2009 and January 2010. The person who uploaded them, MrTalida, said they were recovered from deleted parts of the storage, so a lot of them are incomplete. It sounds like newer files wrote over parts of the old ones. Because of this, MrTalida is warning us that some of the videos might be corrupted – some even have really loud, messed-up audio that’s just noise.

The person who uploaded these files says they mostly contain materials created for internal purposes, such as demo videos, development timelines, and design documents covering gameplay, art, and technical details. While these files don’t show the complete, final vision for Project Apollo, they do give a glimpse into how the game was being developed early on.

The demo videos highlighted impressive dynamic audio features, including a background score that adapts to the gameplay. The music used was actually from the original soundtrack of The Dark Knight, composed by Hans Zimmer. The project also showcased how sounds would change realistically based on Batman’s height, smoothly shifting from street-level noise to the sound of wind as he climbed buildings.

Several videos highlight the visual development of Project Apollo, including details like how Batman’s cape moved realistically and the design of character facial expressions. Gameplay footage reveals stealth attacks and hand-to-hand combat. The game was also planned to include driving sections featuring the Tumbler vehicle. A video demonstrates the vehicle’s physics as it navigates a basic, unfinished level with simple shapes.

It was common for movies to be released alongside video games based on them in the 1980s, 90s, and 2000s. Often, these games were quickly made and low quality, simply as part of the movie’s marketing. However, some turned out to be surprisingly good. One example is the 2005 action-adventure game Batman Begins, which was based on the first film in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. While considered above average for a movie tie-in game at the time, Batman Begins was also notable for being one of the first Batman games to blend stealth and action gameplay. These features would later become central to the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham series developed by Rocksteady.

We have access to demo videos, production timelines, game design documents, concept art, and other resources. These materials give us a clearer picture of the game Monolith was trying to create with Apollo, as well as the obstacles and choices they encountered during its initial development. You can find more at archive.org/details/proj… – part 2 of 9.

— MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social) 2026-01-12T23:50:49.436Z

Early game development footage shows impressive audio systems designed to respond to what’s happening on screen and create seamless musical transitions. It’s a subtle feature that greatly enhances the experience, even if you don’t realize it’s happening! (4/9)

— MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social) 2026-01-12T23:53:04.882Z

Here’s another video featuring audio from the early days of Project Apollo. This particular clip demonstrates how the audio quality shifts depending on Batman’s height. It’s part 6 of 9 in the series.

— MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social) 2026-01-12T23:56:52.321Z

These videos demonstrate how some of the game’s features work, including completing quests, defeating enemies, using items like smoke bombs, and how the AI moves around. Keep in mind this is all very early development footage.

— MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T00:00:46.010Z

Here are some videos showing the development of the Tumbler Batmobile. As far as I know, this is the first time footage of this particular build has been released. The videos show the progress made from October 2009 to January 2010. Enjoy! (File 9 of 9)

— MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T00:02:07.387Z

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2026-01-13 19:42