Zack Snyder's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice was pretty dark, opening with Bruce Wayne's tragic backstory and ending with an adaptation of The Death of Superman comic. But that rendition was sugar and spice compared to the one that almost came to light in the early 2000s.
This unproduced adaptation was to be directed by Wolfgang Peterson, with the inspired casting of Collin Farrell as Batman and Jude Law as the man of steel. However, Law told Colbert back in 2016 he turned down the role ultimately due to his distaste for the costuming.
The screenwriter, Akiva Goldsman (Batman Forever and Batman & Robin,) who revised the early 2000s screenplay initially written by Andrew Kevin Walker, told Collider it would've been "the darkest thing you've ever seen."
Goldsman went on to describe how the story opened with Alfred's Funeral, and Bruce Wayne had finally fallen in love, hanging up the Batman cape and cowl. The bittersweetness wouldn't last for long, however. The new Mrs. Wayne was to be murdered by the Joker, and the whole relationship would be revealed as a ploy by the madman in a masterful attempt to break Bruce.
While the Goldsman/Peterson rendition of Batman Vs. Superman never saw the light of day, remnants of its marketing promotion can be glimpsed in I Am Legend as the camera pans over a post-apocalyptic Time Square. The cameo makes for a fitting homage to what could've been.
Source: IGN