Batman Beyond fans want to see Michael Keaton play an older Bruce Wayne in a live-action movie adaptation, and some new fan art shows us what it might look like. Because Keaton has long been a favorite Batman for so many fans of the character, his name comes up often when fan casting a potential Batman Beyond movie. It certainly makes sense, as the animated series follows a new crime-fighter in the Batsuit as a much older Bruce Wayne has since retired as Batman. Admittedly, it's hard not to get excited when looking at the fan art, and you can check it out for yourself below.

While nothing has been verified, there have been rumors recently circulating in the media about Warner Bros. considering a Batman Beyond movie featuring Michael Keaton. The idea may just be a rumor as of now, but it does bring back up the subject of letting Keaton reprise the iconic role one more time. Previously, Keaton nailed the part in the 1989 movie Batman and its 1992 sequel Batman Returns from director Tim Burton, and his performance is still considered to be among the best of all of the Batman actors. As we are now in the age of nostalgia, it would seem to be the perfect time to finally bring Keaton back to Gotham City, and given the nature of the story, Batman Beyond is clearly the perfect storytelling device to do so.

Batman Beyond originally aired between 1999 and 2001, ending its run with three seasons, 52, episodes, and a direct-to-video feature film. Set many decades after the events of Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, the series brings back voice actor Kevin Conroy to play Bruce Wayne, now serving as a mentor for the new Batman - teenager Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle). While featuring mostly all-new villains, some classic characters like the Joker made the occasional appearance. The series has developed a strong cult following since it's gone off the air, and some fans are still holding out hope for a revival or a live-action movie adaptation.

As Warner Bros.' next plans for the Dark Knight are to give him his own movie in 2021 with Matt Reeves' The Batman, it would seem the studio is in no rush to develop a Batman Beyond movie. Still, the recent success of Joker clearly proves there's plenty of room for standalone movies based on DC characters, even if alternate versions of them have been shown in other recent movies. It was just three short years ago we saw Jared Leto take on the Clown Prince of Crime in Suicide Squad, but fans were more than willing to line up to see Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. Needless to say, most fans of the Caped Crusader would have no problem seeing both Michael Keaton and Robert Pattinson playing the role in separate movies.

We may or may not ever see a live-action Batman Beyond, but the Dark Knight will be back in theaters soon enough. Catch him in The Batman when it premieres on June 25, 2021. In the meantime, let's keep our fingers crossed for one day seeing Keaton as Bruce Wayne one last time. The fan art shown above comes to us from @get2dachopra on Instagram.