DC Comics fans have both Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to look forward to in 2022, but there remains some hope for a brand-new entry in the Batman: Arkham series of games. Gotham Knights is the start of an entirely new continuity unrelated to the Arkham games while the Suicide Squad game is set in the Arkham series’ universe, taking place after Batman: Arkham Knight, but is focusing on a completely different story and set of characters rather can continue the stories of Batman or the Batfamily. There will be some SPOILERS for Batman: Arkham Knight.
While there are no new Batman: Arkham games on the horizon, there were apparently plans for another one that would’ve acted as a proper sequel to Batman: Arkham Knight. Concept art of this supposed game was recently shared by freelance concept artist Goran Bukvic on his ArtStation before making the rounds on Twitter, where he says that the art was made for a canceled game.
Bukvic had previously worked at Warner Bros. Montreal, the studio behind Batman: Arkham Origins and the upcoming Gotham Knights. So, it’s assumed that the studio was originally working on an Arkham sequel before changing tact. In fact, there was a rumor last year that WB Montreal was making a game centred around Damian Wayne, the son of Bruce Wayne and Tahlia al Ghul.
Assuming this is the case, then fans would have taken control of a much older Damian, considering he’s usually depicted as a child in the comics and other media. The suit he’s wearing in the art is also very reminiscent of Terry McGinnis aka Batman Beyond, a future version of the vigilante who took up the mantle after Bruce retired due to old age. Curiously, Damian never appeared or was even alluded to throughout the Arkham series, so this new game would have served as his introduction.
While Damian would have been the central focus, the art suggests that Bruce would have made an appearance as Batman too, albeit older and sporting a full grey beard. This is interesting because Batman: Arkham Knight ended with him seemingly dying in an explosion at Wayne Manor. Considering there was still some ambiguity surrounding his death, perhaps this game would have confirmed that he had faked his death after all.
Fans of Damian would no doubt jump at the chance to play as him in a Batman video game, but this project will likely never see the light of day at this point. Plus, while Gotham Knights will be releasing next year and focus on Batman’s various sidekicks, Damian isn’t among them, with the Robin mantle being held by Tim Drake, one of his predecessors.
Source: ArtStation