Superman: Flyby

Way back in 2002, before J.J. Abrams was a geek god, he was hired to work up a script for a new Superman movie. The story would’ve focused on a civil war on Krypton, which overflows to Earth. The film would’ve reportedly ended with Supes heading back to Krypton, setting up an other-worldly sequel. This being J.J. Abrams, it would’ve probably rocked, but after never-ending debates over casting (everyone from Ashton Kutcher to David Boreanaz were up for the title role) it finally fell apart.

Batman: Year One

In the late 1990s, Warner Bros. tapped acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and comic guru Frank Miller to make a gritty version of Batman: Year One, the awesome comic origin tale of the Caper Crusader. But in this version, Batman would’ve been living on the streets making his own weapons and tools from whatever he could get his hands on. Apparently the concept got too far away from the “essence” of Batman, so the studio pulled the plug. But it would’ve been cool to see what Miller and Aronofsky could’ve put together.

Oh, and interesting note: Christian Bale reportedly turned down the role of Batman in this one, but obviously changed his mind a few years later when Christopher Nolan came calling.

James Cameron’s Spider-Man

This one was close to happening in the mid-1990s, and would’ve been one of the first mature comic book movies ever made. Cameron always loved the character, and worked up an R-rated script that included a ton of profanity and a sex scene between Peter Parker and Mary Jane. Cameron’s name brought a lot of weight to the project, but his adult-oriented approach was too gutsy for the 90s.

But just imagine if Cameron would’ve been able to get this off the ground, nearly a decade before superhero movies actually went dark? If it’d been any good, he could’ve ushered in the era of “serious” comic book movies years earlier.

X-Men Origins: Magneto

Sure, this one eventually evolved into the stellar X-Men: First Class, but David S. Goyer’s Magneto origin tale had a lot of positive buzz behind the scenes. Of course that was before the writer’s strike in 2007 threw everything off track, and the film languished until it was eventually rebooted as the First Class prequel. It would’ve been interesting to see what Goyer could’ve done with a story about a young Magneto, and anything that digs deeper into one of the most intriguing characters in the X-Men canon would’ve been awesome to see.

Wonder Woman

Back in 2007, before he went on to burn down the box office with The Avengers, Joss Whedon was itching to make a big screen version of Wonder Woman. It’s been a pet project for years, and Whedon has always had a soft spot from stories about strong women (See: Buffy, Dollhouse). But the project could never escape development hell over at DC, so Whedon headed over to Marvel’s camp and showed just how well he could make a superhero movie. It makes you wonder just how great his Wonder Woman could’ve been.

Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max

This one has been in development hell for about five years, though the script has received rave reviews from those who have seen it. David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight trilogy) wrote the script, which would’ve told a gritty tale of Green Arrow trying to escape from a super villain prison after being framed for a crime.

Admittedly, Goyer swears this one is still creeping through development, but with the state of DC’s film properties I wouldn’t expect it any time soon.

Batman Beyond

Sadly, this one never got past the development phase, but it would’ve been an awesome set-up for a dark, future version of Batman. The animated series focused on Terry McGinnis as a future Batman, who works with a jaded, old version of Bruce Wayne. The series was fantastic, but an R-rated script based on the story was eventually axed in favor of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. But just think—this really, almost happened.

Batman vs. Superman

This superhero crossover was close to production back in 2001, with a script written by Fringe and I Am Legend scribe Akiva Goldsman. It was very, very dark. It would’ve featured a grizzled, retired Batman left alone after all his friends are dead. As for Clark Kent, we’ll find him after a messy divorce with Lois Lane. The two are tricked into fighting each other early, but would eventually team up to take on a conspiracy masterminded by Lex Luthor.

Instead, the studio opted to split the two characters for separate franchises in an effort to double their profits (at least it worked for Batman), and didn’t think the movie-going public was sophisticated enough to differentiate a potential standalone Batman vs. Superman from different, separate films with each character.