Concept art has surfaced, supposedly from a cancelled Superman game being developed by WB Montreal, the studio behind Batman: Arkham Origins and the DLC episodes for Batman: Arkham Knight. For years, rumors have circulated regarding the next game from either Rocksteady Studios or WB Montreal, the studios responsible for the Batman: Arkham series of video games. The main trilogy was developed by Rocksteady, while the spin-off prequel, Arkham: Origins, was made by WB Montreal. However, both studios have been virtually silent since the release of Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015.
In the intervening years between then and now, rumors have swirled over what projects the developers would tackle, with internet rumblings pointing towards either a Superman game, a Suicide Squad title, a Justice League team-up, or another solo Batman adventure. To date, none of these have been fully confirmed, but a recent spate of cryptic social media posts from WB Montreal suggest the company is working on a Batman solo title that will heavily feature The Court of Owls as villains.
A Twitter user did some snooping around the portfolio of a former WB Montreal concept artist and came across a piece of art suggesting the studio was working on a video game starring the Man of Steel himself, Superman. The image depicts the iconic hero flying above the streets of a city one can only assume is Metropolis. Check out the image below:
The Batman: Arkham series never featured an onscreen appearance from any heroes aside from those in Batman's immediate Gotham City brethren, but the games featured Easter Eggs and subtle plot details pointing towards seemingly every character in the vast DC universe. From a voice cameo from Lex Luthor in Arkham Knight (found on Bruce Wayne's answering machine) to an e-mail correspondence between the Birds of Prey seen on a computer monitor, there are countless clues pointing towards the existence of a wider universe in the Arkham games. Enemy chatter in Arkham Knight even makes nigh-overt reference to Superman himself, confirming his existence in the series, though it's unclear if he and Batman are friends, enemies, or something more complex.
At this point, it's only a matter of time before Rocksteady or WB Montreal unveil their next project, but it remains a mystery as to whether it will be based on a DC Comics property, or set within the so-called "Arkhamverse." Batman: Arkham Knight felt like a true conclusion for the series, but the its secret ending left the door open for a continuation of some sort. Plus, the Arkham games were all set in Gotham City, so games focusing on characters like Superman could be set elsewhere in the world, starting fresh while still technically being set in the same universe as the Arkham games. Hopefully, audiences will be able to find out what WB Montreal and Rocksteady are up to, sooner rather than later.
Source: tatlinsky/Twitter