In another timeline, we would have seen Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Flashpoint Batman on the big screen. The actor, best known as Negan on The Walking Dead, briefly played Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s Dad, in the opening minutes of director Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. His eventual Walking Dead co-star Lauren Cohan portrayed Martha Wayne. Now, the actor has confirmed that, had things gone Snyder’s way, he would have had a bigger role in the DC Extended Universe, aka the Synderverse.
In a recent interview with Den of Geek to promote The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, Morgan was asked if there were ever plans to have him play the Thomas Wayne version of Batman from the Flashpoint storyline. While Mordan didn’t dive into what those plans might have looked like, he did confirm that, had Snyder been able to do more DC movies, this was part of the plan.
“Zack was going to do more movies and that I think that there was a time when Flashpoint Batman would have seen these two characters in a much bigger role. We never got a chance to do that unfortunately. But it was the first time that Lauren and I met. I remember meeting her for the first time and she had just started ‘The Walking Dead’ and I was a huge fan.”
For those who may not be familiar, Flashpoint is a believed DC Comics story that sees The Flash alter the timeline to save his mother’s life. In the process, he changes everything we know about the DC Universe. Instead of Thomas Wayne dying, it’s Bruce who dies. Thomas then takes up the mantle of Batman. Morgan, at various points, expressed interest in playing Flashpoint Batman. It never came to pass.
Here is the synopsis for the Flashpoint comic.
“This is Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war – but where are Earth’s Greatest Heroes to stop it?It’s a place where America’s last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of The Outsider, The Secret 7, S!H!A!Z!A!M!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces! It’s a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can’t find the villain who altered the timeline!”
Snyder directed Man of Steel, BvS and Justice League. He had plans for a Justice League sequel but Warner Bros. eventually moved on from his vision. In 2017, the studio announced that The Flash solo movie would be titled Flashpoint. It’s quite possible that this earlier version of the movie included Morgan as Batman. The movie eventually went through many, many changes, ultimately hitting theaters as The Flash in 2023. It saw Michael Keaton return as Batman alongside Ben Affleck’s version of the character.
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 airs Sunday on AMC.
What do you think? Would you like to see Flashpoint Batman in a movie? Do you think Jeffrey Dean Morgan would have been good in the role? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
