There's no better way to spruce up your aging superhero than by giving him a salt-and-pepper beard. That's my philosophy anyway, and apparently, the concept artist for a cancelled Batman game agrees.
Goran Bukvic, a freelance concept artist in the video game and film industry, revealed a batch of concept art for what was supposed to be a new Batman game. He also revealed the concept art of a more high-tech Batsuit that bears some resemblance to the Batman Beyond suit.
"Project Sabbath", a canceled Damian Wayne Batman game at WB Games Montreal, apparently has another wave of concept art revealed – this time by concept artist Goran Bukvic. The images match how the game was first described years ago.
Credit to Reddit user thebananapeeler2. pic.twitter.com/TelAZeMVMj
— The Arkham Channel (@ArkhamChannel) November 9, 2021
Bukvic's credits include work on Gears 4 and 5, Halo 4, Tomb Raider, and films like Jurassic World 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy.
On his ArtStation, Bukvic notes the Batman concept art was done for a canceled game "a long time ago." On his LinkedIn, Bukvic lists a canceled game called "Batman: The Dark Knight" among his many credits, plus stints at Warner Bros. Montreal in 2015 and 2016.
Bukvic may be describing the canceled 2006 PS3/Xbox 360 game by the same name. That game was being published by EA and developed by Pandemic Studios (Star Wars: Battlefront, Destroy All Humans) as a tie-in to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight film, with development beginning before filming had begun.
It's also possible that the concept art could come from Bukvic's time at Warner Bros, which acquired the Batman video game license from EA. Bukvic worked from April to September 2015 on an unannounced game, and then returned from June 2016 to October 2016 to work on character designs for an "unannounced AAA title."
That timeline matches up with the rumored canceled Arkham Knight sequel. Previous leaks indicated that players would fill the shoes of Damian Wayne taking over for an aging Bruce Wayne. Interestingly, one of the tidbits of leaked info was that a new Batcycle would be a drivable vehicle, and Bukvic's art includes a sleek motorcycle that certainly fits the bill.
It's unlikely we'll see Bukvic's art come to life in WB Montreal's next Batman project, Gotham Knights, which is currently scheduled to release sometime in 2022. The official pitch for Gotham Knights is that Batman's proteges (including Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood) come together to defeat the Illuminati-like Court of Owls following Batman's supposed death. As we all know, comic book heroes tend to not stay dead, so perhaps there'll be room for a bearded bat in the end.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/batfan for IGN.