The Flash went through several iterations before it made it to the screen, including one version written by Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. However, it seems like their version would have featured a pretty different take on Batman.
Goldstein was recently asked if anything from their script ended up in the final cut. "An element of him and his slightly younger self embarking on the journey together", he told The Playlist. "Everything else was kind of different. We had a version where Bruce Wayne never became Batman."
He went on to explain: "So he was just this sort of billionaire party boy who's aimless and doesn't know what to do with his life. And we love the idea of sort of thrusting him into a hero position. That is not in the film. They made it Michael Keaton's Batman. So not a lot survived."
In the final movie, Keaton's Caped Crusader appeared when The Flash accidentally travelled to an alternate universe when trying to go back in time to save his mother. This version of the character, from the Tim Burton Batman movies, is actually retired and reluctant to get back involved with superhero shenanigans.
Although, I feel like Goldstein's version would have made a lot more sense as in the alternate reality that Barry Allen returns to, superheroes like Superman and Aquaman don't exist (Supergirl, you'll recall, is locked away). The film explains Batman's continued existence by the fact that he's not an enhanced being like the others, but it is still a bit confusing.
While not currently part of the DCU, a new version of Batman is on its way. James Gunn and Peter Safran are still planning a Batman movie called The Brave and the Bold, but it's not yet clear who will play the iconic character. In the DC Elseworlds, Matt Reeves is bringing back Robert Pattinson in The Batman 2, which is currently filming.
For more upcoming superhero movies, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies on the way.
