Footage of canceled Batman project set in The Dark Knight universe surfaces online

Back in early 2025, superhero fans were heartbroken to learn that Monolith Productions' Wonder Woman was officially cancelled, ending our hopes of stepping into the shoes of the Amazonian in a video game any time soon. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first DC project to be axed during Monolith's thirty-year history. The iconic developers behind Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor were once aiming to create a title set in Batman's Nolanverse, and while it never came to be, it didn't disappear from the face of the Earth either.

The Dark Knight trilogy is regarded as one of the best superhero franchises ever to grace the big screen, earning over $2 billion at the box office and setting a new standard for the genre as a whole. As such, it doesn't come as a surprise that Warner Brothers originally intended to develop a tie-in video game that would serve to bridge the gap between The Dark Knight and its follow-up, The Dark Knight Rises. Now, new footage showcases the pre-production stages of the game, giving us a glimpse into what could've been.

New footage of Monolith's Project Apollo, a Batman video game set in the Nolanverse, surfaces online

User MrTalida recovered a set of documents, assets, and early footage from Project Apollo that dates back to 2009 and has archived it online. Furthermore, legendary YouTube channel Batman Arkham Videos compiled a lot of this material into one comprehensive video, which you can watch below:

Project Apollo was intended to be an open-world, single-player title that would've allowed players to glide through the rooftops of Gotham City, drive the Batmobile through semi-destructible environments, use a detective mode to scan evidence in crime scenes, and fight criminals using no shortage of gadgets. While all of these mechanics eventually made their way into the Batman: Arkham saga, it's worth pointing out that only Arkham Asylum was released by that point, which didn't feature an open world or a drivable Batmobile.

While Project Apollo was approximately 18 months in development, it never made it past the pre-production stage. According to a video by Did You Know Gaming?, Christopher Nolan needed to give his "explicit approval" for the game to be shipped. Unfortunately, the acclaimed director was not only busy working on movies such as Inception, but it is also speculated that his bad experience with the Batman Begins tie-in game and the cancelled Dark Knight tie-in title made him uneasy about the video game world altogether.

Eventually, Project Apollo was shelved in mid 2011, but a lot of the work Monolith poured into it would find a new home in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Simultaneously, Rocksteady would go on to release Batman: Arkham City in 2011 to raving reviews.

In hindsight, it would've been risky to release two Batman games around the same time as part of two different franchises. It would've been impossible for players not to compare the two and wonder why Arkham City didn't feature a drivable Batmobile while Project Apollo did. At the same time, it's unlikely that Monolith could have written a better story than Rocksteady for its own Batman title. All things considered, both studios found success with their work in the early 2010s.

Unfortunately, Monolith was closed in February 2025 before it ever got the chance to ship a video game based on a DC character. On the bright side, it has been reported that Rocksteady will go back to its roots after the disastrous release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and develop a single-player Batman game. It is currently unknown if this upcoming adventure will take place in the Arkhamverse or not. However, we can't wait to see the Caped Crusader steal the spotlight once again.