After the substantial failure that was 1997's Batman & Robin, Warner Bros. didn't know where to take their once popular franchise. Before deciding to go with Christopher Nolan's 2005 blockbuster hit Batman Begins, which relaunched the series to great acclaim, DC and Warner Bros. considered turning Batman: Year One into a live action movie with Darren Aronofsky directing. New concept art from the failed movie has risen from the depths. Check out Batman, Alfred, Catwoman, and the Batmobile as envisioned for this potential franchise, then read on for more details.

Batman: Year One got as far as the concept art stages, with some of these images discovered by Comic Movie News. The movie reportedly didn't go into production because it changed Batman's back-story, and the script, written by Darren Aronofsky and Frank Miller wasn't liked by the studio. The story revolved around a homeless Bruce Wayne, and Alfred was an African-American mechanic that went by the name of Big Al. Bruce gets the idea to become Batman after punching a criminal in the forehead during an act of vigilantism with a ring containing the initials of his late father Thomas Wayne. The TW that it leaves etched in the skin resembles a bat symbol, and hence, the Batman is born.

Darren Aronofsky still harbors plans to utilize this concept, in either a future film or a comic book. For now, we will have to settle for a first look at some concept art, which hints at the Batman, Jim Gordon, Catwoman, and Batmobile his movie would have left us.