Suicide Squad might just have ultimately stolen the thunder of the once-planned Green Arrow movie.
Some superheroes just cant catch a break when it comes to the big screen.
One of these is Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen.
David S Goyer was the last person to try and get a Green Arrow movie off the ground.
At the time, he was best known as the writer of theBladetrilogy and co-writer ofBatman Begins.
Their project went by the nameGreen Arrow: Escape From Super Max.
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So what happened?
Well, heres everything we know about the Green Arrow film that never was…
Subsequently, hes locked up with a bunch of villains in the high security Super Max facility.
He locked up many of the villains himself [gulp!].
Of course, tons of people venture to kill him while hes in there.
Weve populated the prison with all sorts of B and C villains from the DC Universe.
The lunatics took over the asylum, and Batman was called in to stop them.
This comic would later go on to inspire Rocksteadys videogameBatman: Arkham Asylum.
Its a very, very awesome prison, he toldMTVin August 2008.
I majored in architecture in college, and design is how I actually started in.
What kind of a cell would a guy like that need so you can have his powers neutralized?
Because the prison itself kind of has superpowers!
Theres plentiful potential for action sequences there.
In a nice change of pace from the standard superhero movie, this wouldnt have been an origin story.
Now what do we do?
And I call this Superhero 2.0.
I think for audiences its going to be a great way to get to know a new character.
Oliver Queen wasnt going to be the biggest DC Comics name in his own movie.
Oh, weve got Lex Luthor in there, Marks toldMTV.
Also adding that Im pretty sure Riddler gets his shot Ed Nigma gets his moment.
Theres no more information out there pertaining to the Riddlers role.
Amanda Wallers in there as well, from the Suicide Squad.
Those are probably the two I like the most, absent Green Arrow.
Later, the assassin he hired to mimic Green Arrow ends up in the prison, too.
We assume a big fight would have followed.
And this is a script they like a lot because there are all sorts of characters in this prison.
They like that idea.
Thats hardly surprising, andEscape From Super Maxcertainly fits that bill.
Yet, this movie was never made.
In November 2008, Goyer and Marks were looking to recruit another scribe to their project.
Were working on that.
Were about to bring on another writer, he toldMTVin a different interview.
Obviously, Warner Bros is now heavily into mining all of the various DC properties, he added.
But at some point, the mining stopped.
MTV moved on and reported on other films.
Goyer and Marks moved onto manifold other projects.
Not necessarily, he replied.
I dont think theyre mutually exclusive.
Right now, theres not much to report, he added when asked for more info.
Warner Bros is moving very slowly in terms of what theyre intending to do with their DC Projects.
And since then radio silence.
The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Green LanternandMan Of Steelall came and went.
I think it absolutely was, Goyer confirmed.
I think if that script had come over the transom a couple of years later…
It was completely ahead of its time.
By the way, everything I see aboutSuicide Squadlooks fantastic and its a different story.
But it was absolutely ahead of its time.
That makes no sense.
What happened toSuper Max, then?
We dont want to make any other characters.
Its natural that eventually someone was going to make a villain movie, so thats just what happened!
So, could this project ever come back to life?
In all honesty, the chances of a full-on filmic version are virtually nil.
There are other ways that this script could see the light of day, though.
This writer would certainly read it.
An animated film version would surely find an audience, too.
Imagine playing your way through a maze-like prison designed to withstand superpowers with just your fists and your wits.
Maybe there could even be some playable villains to help you out.
All these ideas may seem a little wishful thinking, but hey, were all allowed to dream.
Of course, well let you know if any of our wild speculation comes true.
