After what was pretty much a decade of radio silence following production on Justice League Mortal being shut down, it was great to see all the info that trickled online earlier this year. Granted, it came at a price – that being the demise of a tell-all documentary chronicling the film’s ill-fated story – but we’re more than willing to reap the consolation prizes.
To briefly reiterate, we were finally – FINALLY – treated to some concept art hinting at the epic which director George Miller ultimately never got to bring to the big screen. Then, a few more pieces showing off Batman and Superman followed shortly thereafter, each teasing what could have been.
Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to present what would’ve been the Dark Knight’s final look in the film, but we’re probably going to have to wait a little longer for such a thing to leak. On the plus side, though, actor Armie Hammer is talking more about what his iteration of Gotham’s guardian would’ve been like.
Here’s what he had to say in a recent interview:
“I wanted this Batman character to be so dark. I was like look, no one – and this was George’s idea as well, this was really in the script – but no one ever really shows how truly psychotic this man has to be. Like this is a guy who chooses to put on a costume, in all black, and sneak around at night and beat the s*** out of people.”
As Hammer continued, he elaborated on how Miller would’ve delved deep into the psychology of the character:
“So even in times when he would be sitting around, like let’s say he had his batsuit off and all that, he would be sitting down with the thing, looking at the thing with the cowl on, because that’s where he felt the most comfortable in his own weird, twisted way. He was a neurotic, like borderline schizophrenic dude who didn’t trust a single person, including anyone in the Justice League, and had all the dirt on every single one of them, and was ready to take all of them down at the snap of a finger.”
Like any diehard fan will tell you, Batman is the true face and Bruce Wayne is the mask, so it’d have been quite intriguing to have experienced this exploration of the enduring icon. It’s been done time and again in comics, sure, but Justice League Mortal probably would’ve gone places with him that we’ve yet to see in live action. For what it’s worth, I envy the parallel universe where this actually saw the light of day.