Unmade Batman & Robin Follow-Up Could've Starred Courtney Love As Harley Quinn

Before Joel Shumacher's Batman & Robin was released in 1997, Warner Bros. brought in screenwriter Mark Protosevich to work on a follow-up to what they would assume would be another hit film. It wasn't, but by the time they knew that Schumacher and Protosevich had already put together a plot, title and met with actors.

The film would've been titled Batman Unchained, not Batman Triumphant, as it has been previously labeled. The film would've focused on Batman conquering his fears and confronting the demons of his past. It would've featured two main villains: Scarecrow and Harley Quinn.

Its two villains had each hated a different aspect of Batman. The brilliant (and satanic) Prof. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow had a personal vendetta against Bruce Wayne, while Harley Quinn despised Bruce's alter ego. Harley, a toymaker whom Protosevich describes as "sadistic in a mischievous, fun sense," learns that her true father was The Joker. This sets her on a path of vengeance against Batman for taking him away in the 1989 film. Eventually, Crane learns Batman's secret identity and teams up with Harley to drive him insane and have him sent to Arkham Asylum. - The Hollywood Reporter

Schumacher met with Nicolas Cage (The Rock) for the role of Scarecrow/Dr. Jonathan Crane and Protosevich met with Hole lead singer Courtney Love, who had interest in playing Harley Quinn.

"I think she had heard about the possibility of Harley Quinn being in the new Batman and was thinking she would be good for it," Protosevich told The Hollywood Reporter. "But we didn't really talk about that. We talked about a lot of other things. It was certainly one of the better lunches I've ever had in my career in show business."

So imagine right now that the film was made, George Clooney is back as Batman/Bruce Wayne and he ends up in Arkham Asylum because Harley and Scarecrow have sent him over the edge. He begins hallucinating a trial in which Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny DeVito's Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face and Jim Carrey's Riddler all appear.

Yup, that's what we could've got. Thankfully, Warner Bros. passed on it and we eventually ended up with Christopher Nolan's masterpiece Batman Begins.