This is a list of unmade and unreleased projects by DC Comics. Some of these productions were, or still are, in "development hell" in other media.
Batman
Fleischer Studios' Batman Following the success of the Fleischer Superman cartoons, Fleischer Studios communicated with DC Comics over the possibility of adapting Batman. The communication got to the point of budget discussions as illustrated in a letter dated January 25, 1942, and reproduced in longtime Batman executive producer, Michael E. Uslan's 2011 memoir, The Boy Who Loved Batman. It is, however, unknown how far the production of this project went before being abandoned.
CBS' Mike Henry Batman Before the 1966 juggernaut that was the Adam West/Burt Ward Batman series, CBS attempted to launch a live-action children's program based on the character. Former Rams linebacker and Tarzan actor Mike Henry was soon approached to appear as the character and even took publicity stills. The project went into limbo, and after a long stagnation, producers attempted to sell it to NBC; they passed on the project in 1965.
Batman vs. Godzilla The original idea for this seemingly mismatched crossover between Batman and Godzilla comes from the hand of series writer Shinichi Sekizawa, who submitted a manuscript of the proposal in November 1965. Sekizawa's concept featured several characters from the Batman universe, including Robin and Commissioner James Gordon. To battle Godzilla, Batman and his sidekicks would have utilized several vehicles to engage in combat, including the Batmobile, the Batcopter, and the Batcycle. The concept also featured the introduction of a weather control apparatus, an idea which would later be used for Son of Godzilla (1967). It was also going to have another device to control Godzilla himself, which would possibly indicate another antagonist pitting the two characters against each other. In terms of Sekizawa's motivation, his reasoning seems clear in these drafts: to try and repeat the mammoth international success that the crossover film King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) enjoyed. This is made apparent in allusions to the earlier 1962 film, as even this extremely early take at the concept included mention of Godzilla's battle with King Kong, which was noted as being included with stock footage of the two titans fighting. The concept never got far enough for a full-fledged script to have been created. There are many questions related to the proposal still unknown, such as whether DC Comics was ever actually approached with the idea or not. It is also not known to what degree the then-recent Batman TV series, which debuted two months after Sekizawa proposed this idea, might have played, if any. Also, references to "Batgirl" are made in the concept, which would predate the Barbara Gordon version of the character that would later become synonymous with the name in 1966.
Tim Burton's Batman Continues During the early development of the canceled Catwoman spin-off, Tim Burton expressed his interest in directing the third installment of the Batman film series that began with Batman in 1989. Micky Dolenz was attached to star as the Riddler, the film's main antagonist. Also, Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face was supposed to occur in the film, with Billy Dee Williams reprising his role as Dent from the first film, after turning down the offer to appear in Batman Returns. Along with these, Michelle Pfeiffer was attached to return as Catwoman, Marlon Wayans was attached to star as Robin, and Rene Russo was attached to star as Chase Meridian. When Warner Bros. observed that the script was just as gloomy as the previous film, they decided to put Joel Schumacher as the director of the third installment, leading to the release of Batman Forever, in which Burton served as producer, without being able to contribute ideas.
Joel Schumacher's Batman Unchained
Batman: DarKnight
Batman: Year One live action film
Batman: Assault on Arkham 2 In a 2016 interview, Jay Oliva mentioned that he had plans to make a sequel to Batman: Assault on Arkham, but following his departure from Warner Bros. Animation, the project was dropped.
Batman: The Musical In 2002, Burton, Jim Steinman, and David Ives had worked on a theater production called Batman: The Musical. Steinman has revealed five songs from the musical. The first is the opening theme for "Gotham City" and the entry of Batman with his tortured solo "The Graveyard Shift"; followed by "The Joker's Song (Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?)", "The Catwoman's Song (I Need All The Love I Can Get)", "We're Still the Children We Once Were" (the climactic sequence) and "In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher is King", sung by the corrupt bloodsuckers ruling Gotham; the last song mentioned here was covered on the Meat Loaf album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. After production was canceled, these songs were released on the Batman: The Musical memorial site.
Bruce Wayne
Gotham High An animated series that reimagined Batman characters as high school students was in development in the late 2000s and early 2010s. A similar idea was used for the DC Super Hero Girls shorts and animated series.
Batman: No Man's Land
Both in the mid and late 2000s, an animated TV show based on the "No Man's Land" storyline was put in development by producer James Tucker. Character designer Coran Stone worked on the project and made designs for the first version, but the project was ultimately scrapped for being "too dark", which led to Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network focusing on Batman: The Brave and the Bold instead. Another attempt was made, and some artwork was made as well, but the project was also canceled, like the first attempt.
Batman: Arkham After the success of Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero, Warner Bros. greenlit a third installment, entitled Batman: Arkham. Boyd Kirkland, the director of this film, was attached to write and direct. The film would have Batman and Robin facing off against a collection of Arkham Asylum escapees, in addition to Batman finding himself falling in love with a new love interest, planned to be voiced by Angie Harmon. The main cast of Batman: The Animated Series was attached to reprise their roles. Steven E. Gordon also drew some art concepts for the film. The film was ultimately canceled in favor of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, while Batman: Arkham eventually became a successful video game series.
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