Batman Beyond has been a favorite amongst fans since millennials grew up with it. The show came out as an attempt to cater to fans of Batman: The Animated Series, who were just beginning to bridge the gap into adolescence. Thus, it’s a little bit darker and a little bit more tech-oriented, which Warner Bros. thought would grab the attention of a young adult audience. But the series caught the eye of fans for a different reason: it shows us Batman in a way no one has ever seen before.
Set in the distant future of 2019, Batman Beyond takes place in a cyberpunk Gotham where the Batman hasn’t appeared in 20 years. Bruce Wayne is an old man, no longer physically able to play the role of the Caped Crusader. But one serendipitous night, the millionaire crosses paths with young Terry McGinnis, a street-tough aware of the myth that once was Batman. Wayne, impressed with Terry’s skills, offers him the role of the new Batman.
With The Flash movie suspended, and news of a new actor taking over the role of Batman in the DC Extended Universe, there was a dull roar from fans pleading for a live-action adaptation of Batman Beyond. Confusing news from Warner Bros. has led people to speculate, but how close are we really?
Don’t Believe the Hype
In December 2020, Walter Hamada (President of DC Films) announced that they had plans to have two Batman franchises going at the same time. One was The Batman with Robert Pattinson, and the other was an unannounced series of projects which wasn't detailed in his interview with The New York Times. One month later, an article published from Small Screen cited an anonymous source that said that Michael Keaton and Timothée Chalamet were in talks to star as old Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis, respectively. And what an incredible lineup, right? Two fantastic actors, one classic fan favorite and another rising star. Naturally, the announcement sent the internet into a flurry of excited posting and theories. But, a year and a half after saying the actors were “close to signing on the dotted line,” there’s nothing, not even a whisper.
That being said, no information has come out saying anything to the contrary either. That is, no one from Warner has stepped forward to debunk the rumor. And there haven’t been any follow-ups to the article on Small Screen. But things often change in that stage of “theoretical” production. And movie producers like to play things close to the chest. Look how big of a surprise Patrick Stewart was in the Doctor Strange trailer.
There's Always Hope
Since that brief uproar in 2021, Michael Keaton has been announced to play DC’s main Batman for the Extended Universe, which could mean many things or nothing. Keaton will enter the universe as Bruce Wayne in the upcoming film Batgirl. It’s assumed he will play a mentor to Barbara Gordon instead of being in so many action sequences. He was also hired to play Batman in the delayed Flash movie in 2023. Though little is known about the plot, it seems from the trailer that Flash (Ezra Miller) travels across timelines to correct an altered future and, at some point, meets Batman.
It’s a long jump, but if the movie is based on the Flashpoint reboot event in DC Comics, the Batman he meets could be Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s father in a universe where he was the alternate lone survivor of the infamous mugging. Thomas would be a role requiring an older and significantly more severe man than would be needed to play Bruce Wayne. Thomas Wayne’s Batman is famous for being one of DC’s deadliest superheroes. Of course, with the time-traveling mechanic, it’s possible that they could just jump straight into the Batman Beyond future, but that isn’t very likely. The new Flash trailer shown at Cinemacon has all but proven both of those theories false.
The point is that, depending on the direction of the DCEU, there are a series of roles that Keaton would be the perfect candidate for. And a theoretical Batman Beyond project could still be in the mix. No official signals are pointing either way. It would just likely have to wait until after The Flash movie. But amongst the uncertainty, there is always hope.
In a 2021 IGN Fan Fest panel with the original Batman Beyond cast, casting director Andrea Romano said:
"It will depend on the fans asking, and asking, and asking for it until [show owner] Warner Bros. would be foolish not to. So, they have to begin a campaign of sorts and just let Warner Bros. know that that's what they want. Because we would like to make it, it would be great fun – we're all still around, we're all still available, everybody's still doing beautiful work. So yes please, and thank you."