Alex Kurtzman is known to most as the screenwriter behind the Transformers and Star Trek franchises on the big screen, as well as the creator and showrunner of Star Trek: Discovery. Others may know him as the director of The Mummy, the first and only movie in Universal’s failed monster franchise, Dark Universe. However, there’s a chance that Kurtzman could have made his biggest mark with one of the most iconic characters in history, had a pitch to Warner Bros. executives gone differently.
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Yes, we’re talking about Batman. As it turns out, Kurtzman’s team was pitching WB on the Caped Crusader, though things didn’t exactly go according to plan. The pitch was apparently not at all what the studio wanted to see and the meeting ended early. The Batman franchise was eventually handed over to Christopher Nolan and the rest is history.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kurtzman recalled the story of his failed Batman pitch, which wasn’t nearly as dark as the studio was hoping for.
“We went in for Batman before Christopher Nolan, not realizing that they wanted to shift to that [darker] tone,” Kurtzman said. “Halfway through the meeting, after three or four weeks of planning, the executive stopped us: ‘Did nobody tell you that we’re not going in that direction at all?” We just said, “Thank you for your time. We should probably stop here.’”
Things worked out for everyone in the end. DC fans around the world still herald Nolan’s work as he best iteration of the character to ever hit the big screen. And Kurtzman has done plenty well for himself in the time since, writing and producing multiple blockbuster films, including the J.J. Abrams Star Trek trilogy. He’s also made big waves in television, developing successful series Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, Hawaii Five-0, and Star Trek: Discovery.
What do you think Alex Kurtzman‘s Batman would have looked like? Let us know in the comments!
