Zack Snyder Thinks Jeffrey Dean Morgan Playing Flashpoint Batman “Could Have Been Cool”

Justice League director Zack Snyder thinks it “could have been cool” for Jeffrey Dean Morgan‘s Thomas Wayne to become Batman, Knight of Vengeance from the Flashpoint universe following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel saw Morgan playing Bruce Wayne’s father, and includes the iconic scene where young Bruce witnesses his parents’ cold-blooded murder. In the DC Comics continuity-redfining Flashpoint event, the Flash visits an alternate reality where Thomas Wayne becomes Batman after witnessing his son’s murder, and he’s far more vicious than Bruce Wayne’s Dark Knight. DCEU fans have long wanted to see Morgan in that role, but Snyder says that wasn’t ever the plan.

“I don’t think it was [the intention for Morgan to become Flashpoint Batman], although I will say that I love Jeffrey Dean,” Snyder told TheFilmJunkee when asked if he cast Morgan with the idea he would eventually suit up as Batman. “I cast him because I liked the idea that Thomas Wayne was like a bit of a tough guy, not a pushover.”

“I like also the duality that that’s the reason why they got shot, you know, was that he didn’t give his wallet right away. He tried to fight back a little bit, which I think is a thing that has haunted Bruce in some ways,” Snyder continued. “I did that shot where Jeffrey Dean makes the fist and it looks like he’s gonna try and punch [the mugger], and that’s right in front of the kid, and I thought that was like a pivotal sort of moment for Bruce. How do you confront violence that’s completely life-altering and unfeeling and merciless? You have to sort of become that yourself a little bit.”

Snyder adds that having Morgan play an even darker Batman “seems like an easy [decision]. Clearly, he can do the work, that’s no problem. I don’t think they’re doing it, but it could have been cool.”

In the Andy Muschietti-directed The Flash, where Affleck reprises his role as Batman after the events of Justice League, the eponymous speedster (Ezra Miller) has a run-in with an older Batman (Michael Keaton) from the multiverse.

Morgan previously told ComicBook.com he would “love to do” Flashpoint and become Batman, but the Walking Dead star believes that door may have closed with Snyder’s stepping away from his plans for the greater DCEU:

“Michael Keaton swooped in and took my gig,” Morgan quipped to ComicBook.com over the summer. “Nah, I think that’s super cool. Ever since Zack Snyder walked away, my whole kind of bit in that world has walked away with him. However, there’s always a chat going on. So, we’ll see!”

Snyder is now at work overseeing his nearly-completed director’s cut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, releasing on the HBO Max streaming service in March 2021.