- Primary Subject: The unmade DCEU Flashpoint & Batman Recasting Plans
- Key Update: Jeffrey Dean Morgan confirmed Zack Snyder originally planned to replace Ben Affleck's Batman with Morgan's Thomas Wayne in a dark, comic-accurate Flashpoint adaptation.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: August 20, 2026
- Quick Answer: Zack Snyder planned to replace Ben Affleck's Batman with Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Thomas Wayne in an alternate-timeline Flashpoint story before Warner Bros. pushed forward.
Before the DC Extended Universe made way for a complete franchise overhaul, Zack Snyder was laying the groundwork for an alternate, far darker timeline for Gotham's Dark Knight.
Fans who noticed Jeffrey Dean Morgan's brief cameo in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice weren't imagining the bigger picture: Snyder initially had a twist planned to replace Ben Affleck's Caped Crusader with a lethal, vengeance-driven Batman.
Who Was Going to Replace Ben Affleck's Batman in the DCEU?
Jeffrey Dean Morgan recently confirmed that he was set to play Batman as an alternate-timeline version of the Dark Knight.
Recently sitting down with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, The Walking Dead actor recalled Zack Snyder's initial long-term plans to eventually adapt Flashpoint and its multiverse plotline to have him come in to take the throne.
Snyder told Morgan how he "would love to see [him] play Batman," in the DC multiverse to set up the franchise's future.
However, Morgan was "so shocked" to see Snyder departing Warner Bros. midway through Justice League's development, noting that while he would've loved to work under James Gunn's DCU, he leaned towards the "darker" version of Snyder: "Both guys I love, but Zack was so versed, and he knew this world, I thought, better than anyone... It's in his bones."
In the 2011 Flashpoint comics, Barry Allen goes back in time to prevent his mother's death. This causes a ripple effect that changes many aspects of the DC universe. One of the big changes is that Bruce dies at the hands of a thief instead of his parents, making Thomas Wayne turn into the masked vigilante in this universe.
Dean Morgan basically thought he would eventually become Batman when Snyder came around adapting the Flashpoint storyline, which never happened.
What Was Zack Snyder's Flashpoint Storyline Going to Be About?
2023's The Flash adapted Flashpoint very differently, with Morgan's Wayne Sr. being replaced by a much older Bruce Wayne, played by Michael Keaton, the star of 1989's Batman.
Meanwhile, SnyderVerse concept artist Jay Olivia previously confirmed with Inverse that Rick Famuyiwa's canceled Flash movie would have featured Eobard Thawne and set up Reverse-Flash/Zoom as the DCEU's "big baddie."
Rather than Bruce surviving that fateful night in Crime Alley, Barry Allen's timeline-shattering time travel would've created a reality where young Bruce Wayne was killed, pushing his parents down tragic paths.
Devastated by his son's murder, Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Thomas Wayne would've become the grizzled, gun-wielding Batman who shows no mercy to Gotham's criminal underworld, leaving Martha Wayne to break into becoming the Joker.
The arc would have let Affleck step away from the Dark Knight's role naturally while giving the spotlight to Morgan's gritty, standalone turn under the cowl before resetting the DCEU continuity.
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