It's no secret that a video game based on 2008's The Dark Knight was in development at one point, before the plug was ultimately pulled. Footage of the game--which was being developed by the now-shuttered Monolith Productions--has surfaced online over the years, and this week, a new video showed how this Batman adventure would have taken a cue from the live-action films with its dynamic soundtrack.
As part of a treasure trove of materials uncovered by retro games enthusiast and archivist Mar Talida, the footage showcases early cinematic footage, game design documents, concept art, and much more. If you have an ear for video game soundtracks, there's even video of the game's dynamic audio system and how it would change depending on the situation that players found themselves in. Batman live-action films have had iconic soundtracks, and Monolith's game used some of Hans Zimmer's Dark Knight soundtrack to demonstrate this feature.
It's worth noting that all of this content came from very early in the pre-production of the Batman game--codenamed Project Apollo--as the assets were dated to around 2009-2010 and naturally look rougher than the 2024 leak.
While the project was eventually scrapped and elements of it were used to develop Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its signature Nemesis System, Batman fans weren't left out in the cold thanks to Rocksteady's popular Arkham series of games. Since then, things have changed drastically at publisher Warner Bros. Games, as it has weathered major organizational shifts and could soon have a new owner in the form of Netflix or Paramount. Rocksteady is said to be working on a new single-player Batman game, and DC studio boss James Gunn has said some "really interesting" projects are coming in the future.
Fortunately, Batman returns later this year in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. The new Lego game looks like it's taking a few pages out of the Arkham playbook, and it'll be released on May 29 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a Switch 2 version coming at a later date.
Source
As part of a treasure trove of materials uncovered by retro games enthusiast and archivist Mar Talida, the footage showcases early cinematic footage, game design documents, concept art, and much more. If you have an ear for video game soundtracks, there's even video of the game's dynamic audio system and how it would change depending on the situation that players found themselves in. Batman live-action films have had iconic soundtracks, and Monolith's game used some of Hans Zimmer's Dark Knight soundtrack to demonstrate this feature.
It's worth noting that all of this content came from very early in the pre-production of the Batman game--codenamed Project Apollo--as the assets were dated to around 2009-2010 and naturally look rougher than the 2024 leak.
I've recovered a cache of documents and videos from the pre-production phase of Project Apollo, a canceled Batman game Monolith worked on for Warner Bros. The materials, from 4/2009 to 1/2010, were in deleted sectors of a HDD used at a game company. archive.org/details/proj... 1/9
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— MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social) January 13, 2026 at 1:48 AM
While the project was eventually scrapped and elements of it were used to develop Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its signature Nemesis System, Batman fans weren't left out in the cold thanks to Rocksteady's popular Arkham series of games. Since then, things have changed drastically at publisher Warner Bros. Games, as it has weathered major organizational shifts and could soon have a new owner in the form of Netflix or Paramount. Rocksteady is said to be working on a new single-player Batman game, and DC studio boss James Gunn has said some "really interesting" projects are coming in the future.
Fortunately, Batman returns later this year in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. The new Lego game looks like it's taking a few pages out of the Arkham playbook, and it'll be released on May 29 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a Switch 2 version coming at a later date.
Source