A slew of images and gameplay clips from a cancelled ‘Nolanverse’ Batman game have hit the web.
On April 3rd, X (Twitter) user SpideyRanger (@Dageekydude) posted a thread with the screenshots and footage, which he obtained from the Internet Archive. The untitled game (codenamed “Project Apollo”) was originally in development at Warner Bros.-owned Monolith Productions, the studio behind Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War.
In one clip shared by SpideyRanger, we can see Batman in his The Dark Knight outfit as he glides around an open-world Gotham, while another shows him stealthily taking down enemies using smoke bombs in an office building. Admittedly, it does look like a less refined version of Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham series, which was still going at the time of Project Apollo’s development.
SpideyRanger, citing details from the Internet Archive and games researcher Liam Robertson (Did You Know Gaming?), notes that Project Apollo was cancelled in part because Warner Bros. didn’t want it to conflict with the Arkham series. Robertson has also said that Nolan wanted to focus on the The Dark Knight Rises.
Thread of videos and images related to Monolith Productions cancelled Batman video game codenamed "Project Apollo" pic.twitter.com/BMv8P79SES
— SpideyRanger 🇬🇭 (@Dageekydude) April 3, 2024
Instead, Monolith Productions retooled parts of Project Apollo into what would become 2014’s Shadow of Mordor. The most notable element to carry over was the ‘Nemesis System,’ a feature that allows enemies to remember player’s actions and react accordingly. In the Batman game, this presumably would have been used with the various gangs of Gotham, and in Mordor, it was used to allow different factions of orcs to remember battles with the player to create unique interactions.
Ultimately, Monolith’s pivot to The Lord of the Rings paid off, with both Middle-earth games receiving significant acclaim. The studio is now working on an untitled Wonder Woman game that will also incorporate a version of the Nemesis System, although we haven’t seen anything from that game since a vague 2021 reveal trailer.
Of course, Christopher Nolan has also been doing well since he wrapped up his Batman trilogy with 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. After acclaimed films like Interstellar and Dunkirk, the filmmaker just received multiple Oscars for Oppenheimer, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Unfortunately, the Batman game franchise itself has seen better days. In 2022, WB Games Montreal released Gotham Knights to mixed reviews, while Rocksteady’s recently released Arkham spin-off, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, was even more poorly received.
Maybe it’s time for Warner Bros. to finally make a Batman Beyond game?
Image credit: Warner Bros.
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