Cancelled Dark Knight Video Game Artwork Reveals Joker’s Fate & More

Artwork and animatics for the cancelled video game adaptation of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight have surfaced, revealing some never-before-seen Joker sequences. There are few movies to have as much of an impact on the culture as The Dark Knight. It catapulted Christopher Nolan to blank check status, allowing him the freedom to make virtually whatever he wanted. Studios embraced the tone set by the film and applied it to other characters like Superman, Spider-Man, and James Bond. Heath Ledger’s turn as The Joker is also widely regarded as one of the best cinematic performances of all-time, even garnering him an Oscar after his death.

The Dark Knight had a legendary theatrical run, clearing the $1 billion mark by the time it left theaters. It also had a record-breaking release on DVD and Blu-ray, but there was one crucial release missing from all of this: a video game. Tie-in games were standard for big blockbuster films, particularly superhero movies, but The Dark Knight didn’t have one. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, The Dark Knight video game was cancelled after various set backs. EA had wanted it out in time for the theatrical release, but developer Pandemic asked for more time. They were told it needed to launch in time for the DVD release in December 2008, but they missed the deadline and the game was cancelled.

The Dark Knight Video Game Storyboards Reveal More Villains, New Joker Scenes

Over the years, leaked gameplay from The Dark Knight game has shown an open-world Gotham City, stealth mechanics, and more. However, not much is known about the story beyond the fact it would have adapted the events of the film. As is customary with tie-in games, The Dark Knight video game would have featured other villains and sequences not seen in the film in order to pad out the play time.

Newly uncovered concept art (via Reddit) created by Lachlan Creagh for The Dark Knight video game reveals new details. For starters, Batman would’ve battled the likes of Victor Zsasz (who has a minor cameo in Batman Begins), Lady Shiva, Deadshot, and Firefly throughout the story. It’s possible there would have been others, but there are also storyboards for sequences with Heath Ledger’s version of Joker. One of the more noteworthy storyboarded sequences shows Joker ambushing Batman, knocking him out with some kind of gas, and then stealing a Batarang. He then brutally stabs a female hostage to death with the Batarang, potentially framing Batman for this woman’s murder.

Another sequence shows Joker in prison, seemingly with broken legs, staring at the Bat-signal illuminating the night sky through his cell window. There’s also another video of a scene of Joker killing a prison guard, potentially before an escape. Either way, it suggests Batman roughed Joker up pretty good and sent him off to prison. However, maybe an end credits teaser would have teased the idea of him breaking out after killing a guard. In the films, Joker is captured by SWAT, but we don’t know what comes of him after this.

In a novelization of The Dark Knight Rises, however, there is more of an answer as to what came of Joker. The book reveals that Joker was the sole inmate of Arkham Asylum, as everyone else was sent to Blackgate. The book keeps things fairly vague, suggesting no one knows exactly what happened to him. Did he escape? Is he truly the only person at Arkham? No one knows! Nevertheless, it seems like The Dark Knight game may have toyed with the idea of a follow-up that could have seen him return.

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