Darren Aronofsky wanted to reinvent Bruce Wayne with a radical approach

Before Batman begins From Christopher Nolan he returned to the dark gentleman to the cinematographic size, Darren Aronofsky was about to direct a much more radical version than Gotham’s Hero. The director, known for intense works like Requiem for a dream y Black swanhe worked alongside Frank Miller In a script inspired by Batman: first yearBut with the shifts that would leave the fans speechless.

Batman Street and Brutal Version

In the vision of Aronofsky, Bruce Wayne did not take refuge in buildings or gadgetsBut he fell into misery after the death of their parents. Alfred was not the faithful British butler, but “Little al”, owner of a car repair seminar. The entire tone of the project was designed for an adult audience, R classification and zero intention of selling toy blessings.

The director described him as “A dirty film, made with adhesive tape“, Far from the commercial show that Warner Bros. was looking for after the disaster Batman y Robin. The idea was to dynamize the tone of the field and return to the character on the streets, in an environment raw, realistic and without concessions to merchandising.

One of the most curious details is that Aronofsky I wanted Joaquin Phoenix as BatmanLong before the actor embodied the Joker with so much success. However, the study had Freddie Prinze Jr., known for youth comedies as I know what you did last summer. That the clash of visions clarified that The director and the study were making two completely different films.

The shadow of Batman and Robin

Aronofsky confessed that his greatest obsession was “Dynamite the image of the Batman with the nipples in the dress”Direct reference to Joel Schumacher’s ribbon. For him, the goal was to create a restart will reinvent the myth from scratchWith an adult and violent tone that had little to do with what we finally saw in 2005.

The truth is that, although his proposal would have fascinated a niche audience The masivity of the character would probably have suffered a blow. Warner needed a reinvention to work at the box office and for the public in general, something that Nolan knew how to offer Batman begins.

The echo of an impossible Batman

In the history of superhero cinema, Darren Aronofsky’s Batman has become an urban legendA project that has never materialized but continues to fascinate fans. The proposal to show a Bruce Wayne has stripped her wealth, forged on the streets and with an Alfred it turned into “Little at”I would have broken with everything that had been shown until then on the big screen. That almost experimental vision was not only planned Logan or Joker.

Compared to the Nolan trilogy, the Aronofsky approach would have been even more visceral. While Nolan leaned against a stylized realism, Aronofsky wanted a story Brutal cinema, almost independent, away from any commercial concession. A bet that could have changed the DC course in the cinema long before imagining.

What would happen if …?

Fans hypothesized how this alternative vision would have been. In an era when there are films such as today Joker or The BatmanAronofsky’s proposal does not seem so impossible. Indeed, His idea could have advanced the adult and psychological turn of the genre more than a decade.

Even so, perhaps fate has played his letters well: Aronofsky could do The fountainThe movie that really wanted to rollWhile Nolan reinvented Gotham’s justice with a trilogy that became a cultural reference.

The Aronofsky case reminds us how many superhero projects remain in limbo, between the vision of an author and the interests of a study. His Batman will never see the light, but continues to feed the imagination of the fans like One of the most intriguing films that have ever been rolled on paper.