A canceled open-world Batman game had everything going for it, except Christopher Nolan’s approval. Warner Bros. thought the world needed more Caped Crusader titles, but the director made his stance clear: “Don’t bring the game near my movie.”

With Arkham Shadow locked to VR, Gotham Knights still leaving a bitter taste, and the new Lego Batman being the only bright spot on the horizon, Batman fans have gone from enjoying a golden era to suffering through a drought of games featuring the Dark Knight. Yet there was a time when it seemed the opposite problem existed: too many Batman games in development.

One of those games never saw the light of day, and it’s a shame—it looked promising. Developed by the now-defunct Monolith under the codename Project Apollo, it aimed to bring Batman into a true open world. It featured clever ideas, combat and stealth that met expectations, and, much to film fans’ delight, it was designed to be canon within Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe.

The problem? Nolan wanted nothing to do with it. Speaking to Time Extension, former developer Matthew Allen recalled how the director dismissed the idea outright, even saying: “Don’t bring your game near my movie.” At that time, Nolan had already delivered the masterpiece The Dark Knight and was working on the trilogy’s conclusion. Warner, however, saw it as the perfect opportunity to launch a game tie-in.

Nolan’s disapproval wasn’t the sole reason for its cancellation, but it was a major factor. Allen admitted he understood Nolan’s perspective: the director knew all too well the poor reputation of movie-based games, and even though this was an original project, those biases influenced him. Nolan had already endured a negative experience with the Batman Begins adaptation, which was created without his consent.

Even if Nolan had given his blessing, there were still pressing questions inside Warner. Chief among them: why was the company competing with itself by developing both Project Apollo and Arkham City simultaneously, especially since both aimed for an open-world approach? In the end, the order came to shut it down. While fans likely missed out on a strong Batman game, many of its elements later resurfaced in Shadow of Mordor.

Source: 3djuegos