Recently Surfaced Footage Showed How a Batman Game Turned into Shadow of Mordor

Prior to the release of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor in 2014, the developer, Monolith Productions, had been focusing on a different direction for their main project. The team was developing a Batman game, codename Project Apollo. Even though some reports say that the footage of the Apollo appeared online back in 2022, it was only noticed now.

It seems that the game was dedicated to Christian Bale's Batman but told its own story rather than adapting the plots of Christopher Nolan's trilogy. The game included the ability to ride the Tumbler, and the combat system was inspired by Batman: Arkham Asylum, which was released about a year before the project was canceled.

To make the game less reminiscent of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Monolith Productions developed the Nemesis System. This system allows ordinary opponents to remember encounters with the hero.

However, Warner Bros. reportedly decided against having two concurrent Batman game franchises, particularly given the success of Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Adding to that, Christopher Nolan apparently did not approve of the use of images from his films. Consequently, the project shifted to become an action RPG set in Middle-earth, resulting in the creation of Shadow of Mordor. 

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