Canceled Arkham Knight Sequel Would Have Changed Batman Forever

Though the "Arkham" universe timeline will shift away from Gotham City for "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League," a new image gallery on ArtStation has indicated that a very different follow-up to "Batman: Arkham Knight" was originally planned — one that would have seen Batman passing on his mantle to his son.

Codenamed Project Sabbath, the canceled game would have featured a much older version of the Caped Crusader his son, Damian Wayne. Originally appearing in a now-deleted 4Chan post (as discussed on Reddit), concept art for Project Sabbath previously leaked online back in 2019. That initial gallery included early-stage concept art for notable characters like Two-Face, Gorilla Grodd and an older Dick Grayson/Nightwing. While these characters appeared relatively faithful to their classic depictions, other villains — like a female version of Black Mask — looked to have received extreme redesigns. 

The newest leak has revealed a better look at Batman himself, as well as the character destined to take over as the new Dark Knight. In fact, Project Sabbath's newly-revealed concept art looks like it would have changed the "Arkham"-verse's Batman forever.

Though freelance concept artist Goran Bukvic never name-dropped Project Sabbath in his newest post, he did explain, "These concepts were done for a cancelled game a long time ago." Given the stylistic similarities to "Arkham" titles and the little information that has leaked over the years about the abandoned game, it seems like Bukvic's concepts are almost certainly for Project Sabbath. 

The images depict an older, grizzled Bruce Wayne as Batman. He sports a large grey beard, hunches over a little, and has what appear to be leg braces visibly built into his suit. Contrasting these images are several concepts for a Bat-suited character reported to be Damian Wayne, Bruce's son (per fan page The Arkham Channel). The art features the young Wayne suited up in two different costume variations. One looks to take cues from the fan favorite "Batman Beyond" suit, while the other looks to be a more traditional all-black batsuit.

Project Sabbath's concept art indicates players would control the aging Bruce in addition to his son. Noted by his worn physical appearance and braces built into his armor, Batman looks to be close to succumbing to his greatest foe: age. With Damian appearing in-suit alongside his father, one can only imagine how interesting Project Sabbath could have been if it implemented the Dual Play mechanics featured in "Batman: Arkham Knight," which allowed players to swap between Batman and his sidekicks in battle. While the "Arkham"-verse is going in a bombastic new direction with "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League," it's still fun for fans to imagine what could have been.