Alex Kurtzman Pitched A Batman Film Before Christopher Nolan

Alex Kurtzman once pitched a a Batman movie before Christopher Nolan did Batman Begins, but didn’t realize Warner Bros. wanted to go in a darker direction.

Kurtzman is a screenwriter mostly known for his work on the Star Trek: Discovery series. He has also worked on the script for the movies Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness. There was a moment before Nolan was hired for Batman Begins that Kurtzman had a pitch for a Batman movie. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kurtzman was asked about his worst pitching experience and brought up the moment where he pitched Batman.

We went in for Batman before Christopher Nolan, not realizing that they wanted to shift to that [darker] tone. Halfway through the meeting, after three or four weeks of planning, the executive stopped us: “Did nobody tell you that we’re not going in that direction at all?” We just said, “Thank you for your time. We should probably stop here.” (Laughs.)

It’s interesting to think about what exactly Kurtzman had in mind for the Batman franchise. Especially considering they had planned on it for so many weeks prior to the pitch and the work he’s done for the Star Trek films and how successful those became. From the interview, Kurtzman seems like he might have gone a much lighter route than what we got from Nolan’s gritty and realistic films.

Currently in the DC Extended Universe, Matt Reeves is directing The Batman, one of the many projects currently being developed by Warner Bros. and DC Films, including The Flash standalone film, Green Lantern Corps, Black Adam, Cyborg, Supergirl, New Gods and Nightwing.

The DCEU continues with Shazam! on April 5, 2019, Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, and Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020. A standalone Joker film set outside of the DC Films universe starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime is also set to hit theaters October 4, 2019.

Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on the future of the DC Films franchise as we learn it.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter