Comic Book Legend Frank Miller on Scrapped Batman Early 2000's Revival
In between the disastrous Batman & Robin and Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Warner Bros. had their eye on Darren Aronofsky to bring the caped crusader back into the spotlight.
The picture was set to adapt Frank Miller's famous story Batman: Year One in an attempt to create a dark, older version of the character. "I told them I'd cast Clint Eastwood as the Dark Knight, and shoot it in Tokyo, doubling for Gotham City." Aronofsky said at one point. "That got their attention."
He described it as "'Death Wish' or 'The French Connection' meets Batman," aiming for a street level, ultra-real interpretation. But he knew Warner Bros. weren't for it. Batman was, at least considered as, a PG property.
Frank Miller has now opened up about Aronofsky's pitch, which was even grittier than his dark graphic novel. "It was the first time I worked on a Batman project with somebody whose vision of Batman was darker than mine. My Batman was too nice for him."
He described the two arguing about it, creating a screenplay, and then it being rejected. "The executive wanted to do a Batman he could take his kids to. And this wasn't that. It didn't have the toys in it... Batman turned his back on his fortune to live a street life so he could know what people were going through. He built his own Batcave in an abandoned part of the city."
Miller then responded to the question of why he doesn't turn it into a comic, he responded with, "Maybe I will."
Source: Indiewire
