When Jeffrey Dean Morgan was cast as Thomas Wayne in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, many fans couldn’t help but picture him as some kind of version of The Dark Knight. After all, he’s without a doubt the most macho onscreen version of Bruce’s father we have seen to date. And, let’s not forget, he recently expressed interest in playing a certain version of Batman who hails from an alternate reality.
Well, apparently Morgan’s desire has not subsided and he recently had this to say regarding Zack Snyder’s decision to cast him:
“Maybe when he cast me that was kind of the goal. Hopefully DC can figure this all out, and in a few years I can come back and do a Flashpoint Batman! I would love it. That would be great.”
He is, however, quick to clarify that it remains a dream, at least at this point:
“I have not had any big discussions with him about [Flashpoint].”
For those unfamiliar, Flashpoint was a 2011 comic book event that saw The Flash go back in time to save his mother from being murdered. Before the timeline was set straight and effectively launched The New 52, a radically different world stood in its place that saw young Bruce Wayne gunned down in the alley, with Thomas going on to become Batman and Martha surprisingly becoming The Joker. A three issue spinoff – Batman: Knight of Vengeance – offered a deeper look at these new takes on the characters, with Flashpoint itself later being adapted to an animated movie called Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in 2013 (check out the video at the top).
Thomas Wayne proved to resonate with fans so well that another alternate universe version of him became Batman for a time in the Earth 2 comics before biting the dust in Convergence. We also can’t ignore the fact that his Flashpoint costume has been included in the Batman Unlimited line of toys.
It’s just hard to imagine how something like this could possibly fit into a DC Extended Universe that’s pretty much just started its cinematic run. Perhaps it could be saved for a Justice League sequel, though?
Another angle to consider is that it’s very rare for comic book movies to be exactly like their source material. It’s possible that Morgan could, in fact, play an Earth 2 Batman or even just don cape and cowl in a dream sequence a la the Knightmare scene in BvS.
Taking these suggestions into account, it’s more than apparent that the filmmakers have a variety of ways to approach a Thomas Wayne Batman on the big screen and, should it ever happen, we’re certainly game for it.
