Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn't the only movie that planned to pit the Man of Steel against the Dark Knight, as there was once an even darker pitch starring Colin Farrell and Jude Law.

Speaking to Collider, Akiva Goldsman explained how Farrell and Law were going to suit up for the cinematic clash of the titans. “I wrote on […] this version of Batman v Superman [around 2001 or 2002]— when Colin Farrell was cast as Batman and Jude Law was cast as Superman and Wolfgang Petersen was directing," explained Goldsman.

RELATED: Wonder Woman 1984 Honors Batman v Superman Continuity

Discussing what it would've been about, Goldsman confirmed the film would've focused on the "dark" aspect of the Dark Knight: "We were in prep and it was the darkest thing you’ve ever seen. It started with Alfred’s funeral and Bruce has fallen in love and renounced being Batman, the Joker kills his wife, and then you discover it was all a lie. Just that the love itself was constructed by the Joker to break [Bruce]. It was a time where you would be able to get these sort of stories together in script form but they couldn’t quite land in the world." In addition to Alfred, Dick Grayson and Commissioner Gordon were also going to be dead, and Clark Kent was depressed after divorcing Lois Lane and in a relationship with Lana Lang.

Goldsman likened his movie to the Golden Age comic run of Batman and Superman under the World’s Finest banner. Goldsman admitted there were a lot of projects flying around when he wrote Batman v Superman, and although his project was one of the ones that didn't make it, he wasn't at all sad the Nic Cage-led Superman Lives wasn't made either.

Much later in the history of comic book movies, Dawn of Justice was particularly dark in its tone and criticized for Batman's use of violence. However, Goldsman's Batman v Superman sounds in many ways darker than the one that finally came to life that pit Ben Affleck's Dark Knight against Henry Cavill's Man of Steel. And, while Farrell never played Batman, he's set to bring the Penguin to life in Matt Reeves' The Batman.

RELATED: Why Batman V Superman Sparks Such Passionate Debate (But Other Films Don't)

Directed by Zack Snyder and written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot. The film is available on Digital HD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD.