It turns out we almost had an even darker version of Batman v Superman in the early 2000s.
As Akiva Goldsman tells it in a new interview, Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, The Neverending Story) was on deck to direct this particular version of Batman v Superman around 2002.
Ultimately, the version of Batman v Superman we got, which featured Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Henry Cavill as Superman, proved to be intensely divisive.
The screenwriter penned a draft of the movie that would have seen Colin Farrell suit up as Batman, with Jude Law on board as Superman.