Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy remains one of the most successful superhero projects of all time. But it’s crazy to think that we never got a video game adaptation of the trilogy. The thing is, we kinda did, but then also didn’t. There was a lot going on back in 2009 and 2010 and we recently got more details about it.
What many don’t know is that Monolith Productions, the studio behind F.E.A.R. and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, almost made a Batman game set in Nolan’s universe. According to former WB Games executive Laura Fryer, Warner Bros. was excited about the project. But in the end, it never saw the light of day, because Nolan himself refused to approve it.
Christopher Nolan didn’t approve of Monolith’s Batman game
Monolith Productions, the studio behind F.E.A.R. and Condemned, was acquired by Warner Bros. in 2004. This gave the studio access to DC properties. Around 2010, they began working on a Batman game set in Nolan’s universe.
Now we know how that went thanks to Laura Fryer. The ex-vice president of WB Games recently posted a YouTube video where she explained some of the events of that time.
The project had exciting elements, including a working prototype of the Tumbler from Batman Begins. We even saw a leak of the unreleased game last year. Batman video games had been inconsistent before the Arkham series changed the genre. Warner Bros. was initially excited about Project Apollo but required Nolan’s blessing to proceed.
WB was excited about the game and they asked us to work on it in stealth mode until we could talk to Nolan. Well, unfortunately when we finally spoke to him he didn’t want us to do it.
Laura Fryer, who worked closely with Monolith during this time, revealed that the game industry had to adjust to the demands of major film directors. “It’s easy to blame Warner Bros. for everything,” she explained, “but these directors were bringing in the money; they were the creative force driving the business. Ultimately, we were making games on their dime.“
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In other words, if a director didn’t want a game to be made, it simply wasn’t happening. Despite Monolith’s enthusiasm, Nolan’s reluctance sealed the project’s fate. Leadership briefly considered delaying the game until his trilogy concluded, but ultimately, they decided not to wait. By 2011, Project Apollo was officially shelved.
Monolith ended up using the Nemesis system on the games we know today
When Project Apollo was shelved in 2011, Monolith didn’t abandon all its work. Some elements, particularly its AI and gameplay mechanics, were repurposed for a new project, the main one being the Nemesis System. And we all know how that ended up.
Since Monolith’s engine couldn’t support a Grand Theft Auto-style open world, the Nemesis System was developed to offer near-endless replayability. This strategy worked. Shadow of Mordor and its sequel, Shadow of War, are big hits that have proved the innovation of the Nemesis system, and we wish we could see more of it.
Despite Shadow of Mordor becoming a critically acclaimed success, we still speculate about what could have been with the canceled Monolith project. The Nemesis system is still one of the most creative and innovative mechanics but it remains locked under a Warner Bros. patent until 2036.
It’s fascinating to think about what Project Apollo could have become. The Nolan trilogy’s realistic tone and grounded storytelling would have made for a unique Batman game, likely different from Rocksteady’s Arkham series. With Monolith’s expertise, Project Apollo could’ve seen the same success that the games that replaced it did.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
