DC Movie's Scrapped Multiverse Story Nearly Introduced Bruce Wayne Who Never Became Batman

Published Sep 6, 2026, 1:07 PM EDT Growing up around performers, storytelling was always central to Emma's life. Add in a nerdy older brother who introduced her to Marvel at far too young an age, and her love for entertainment led her to pursue a Journalism degree at Indiana University, where she discovered her passion for entertainment reporting. She spent nearly one year in Los Angeles covering industry stories and fully immersing herself in the world of entertainment media. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The Flash almost introduced a wildly different Bruce Wayne who never became Batman at all. Before the DC movie finally hit theaters in 2023, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves filmmakers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein were among the directors attached to the project. Their version never made it to the screen, but it turns out they had a very different plan for Bruce Wayne than the Michael Keaton Batman fans eventually saw. Speaking with The Playlist, Daley shared one of the biggest ideas from their original The Flash screenplay, revealing that their Bruce never became the Dark Knight. Instead, he was a directionless billionaire who would have been unexpectedly pushed into becoming a hero. We had a version where Bruce Wayne never became Batman. He was just this billionaire party boy who's aimless and doesn't know what to do with his life. We loved the idea of thrusting him into a hero position. That would have put a pretty unusual spin on one of DC's most famous characters. Rather than meeting a seasoned Batman who had already spent years protecting Gotham, Barry would have encountered a Bruce who had all the wealth and resources fans associate with the character but had never actually taken the step toward becoming a superhero. It also would have made Bruce's role in the story almost the complete opposite of what audiences eventually got. In the finished Flash movie, Barry's attempt to change the past leaves him stranded in an alternate timeline, where he and his younger self eventually track down Keaton's older and retired Bruce Wayne. Keaton's return became one of the movie's biggest selling points, bringing the actor back as Batman more than 30 years after Batman Returns. He eventually suits up again to help the two Barrys rescue Sasha Calle's Supergirl and take on General Zod. Daley and Goldstein's earlier version of The Flash apparently would have asked a much different question though. What happens when Barry meets a Bruce Wayne who never became Batman in the first place? Surprisingly, one major part of their original idea did survive. The Playlist reports that Barry going on an adventure with a younger version of himself was the only concept from Daley and Goldstein's screenplay to make it through the movie's lengthy development process. The abandoned Bruce storyline is another look at just how different The Flash could have been. The movie audiences eventually saw leaned heavily into Batman nostalgia, featuring not only Keaton but Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne and a surprise George Clooney appearance. Daley and Goldstein's idea would have gone in nearly the opposite direction. Instead of bringing back another established Batman, The Flash could have given fans something live-action DC movies rarely get to explore, which is Bruce Wayne figuring out how to become a hero without his cape. The Flash 4/10 Release Date June 16, 2023 Runtime 144 minutes Director Andy Muschietti Writers Christina Hodson, Joby Harold, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Carmine Infantino, Gardner Fox, Harry Lampert, Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, Robert Kanigher, William Moulton Marston Cast Sasha Calle Kara Zor-El / Supergirl