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There’s more to the opening scene of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice than meets the eye. At first glance, it looks like we’re getting another replay of the ceremonial killing of Thomas and Martha Wayne, but director Zack Snyder was actually setting the seeds for another project. After all, you don’t cast Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne unless you have bigger plans for him.

“I remember when [Zack Snyder] called me to do the role,” Jeffrey Dean Morgan told Josh Horowitz during an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Initially, Morgan felt the role didn’t have a lot of screentime, but Snyder told him he was playing the long game.  “I was like, ‘It’s really nothing.’ And he was like, ‘I’ve got bigger plans.’ And I was like, ‘Zack, what does that mean, man?’” Morgan recalled. “He’s like, ‘Can you just trust me?’ And I was like, ‘Of course. And I’m going to do it even without this incentive of there’s more.’”

From the moment Morgan was cast, there were rumors about him reprising his role for a Flashpoint movie. If you aren’t familiar with the comic book, Flashpoint is a storyline where the Flash’s time-traveling alters reality, resulting in a world where Thomas Wayne operates as a ruthless version of Batman.

“I think we did have a conversation. We started talking about Batman, him and I together on the press tour for Watchmen, and he was like, ‘I would love to see you play Batman,'“ Morgan said. “And I was like, ‘Bro, stop. I’m going to have a fucking heart attack right now.’“

Morgan says that Snyder would coyly tease doing a Flashpoint movie in private. “I think at one point he looked over and said, ‘Flashpoint.’ And I was like, ‘Goddamnit.’ I almost don’t want to hear it. But there was so much immediate fan speculation. Everybody is so smart these days and knows that world so well. I was so shocked that Zack and Warner Bros. didn’t work out, because I love his stuff, and I love that he leans towards the darkness. Not that I don’t love Gunn.”

In 2023 Warner Bros. did their own version of the Flashpoint storyline with Andy Muschietti’s The Flash. The film omitted the Thomas Wayne Batman in favor of having Michael Keaton reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. Jeffrey Dean Morgan never got to don the batsuit, but it’s fun to imagine how much chaos and charisma he would’ve brought to the role.

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU. Oh, and don't forget our guide to what's coming up for DC projects on the big and small screens.