A new report suggests that one of the casualties of the restructuring of DC Studios was a new Batman film starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. What's more, the project may have actually been a Batman Beyond adaptation.On the latest edition of The Hot Mic with Jeff Sneider and John Rocha, industry insider Jeff Sneider -- who has been on something of a hot streak in terms of accurate scoops as of late -- reported that new DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran "killed" a "solo Batman movie that would have starred Michael Keaton." The project was apparently being written by Christina Hodson, who has penned such DC Universe films as the acclaimed Birds of Prey, the upcoming The Flash and the canceled Batgirl. After the podcast went live, Umberto Gonzalez of TheWrap not only corroborated Sneider's report that a Michael Keaton-starring Batman film was being written by Hodson before being scrapped, but that it, in fact, was to be an adaptation of Batman Beyond.
Batman Beyond Remains a Fan Favorite
Developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, Batman Beyond is an animated series that premiered on Kids' WB in 1999 as part of the DC Animated Universe. Batman Beyond served as a sequel to Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, taking place in a futuristic version of Gotham City, with the late, great Kevin Conroy reprising his role as the voice of an older, retired Bruce Wayne. In the series, Bruce served as a mentor figure to teenager Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle), who took up the mantle as the new Batman.
Batman Beyond ran for a total of 52 episodes across three seasons, concluding in 2001. Additionally, an animated feature film titled Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker -- which saw Batman: The Animated Series' Mark Hamill reprise his role as the Clown Prince of Crime -- was released in 2000. DC has since revisited the Batman Beyond mythos on a number of occasions, including in its comic book universe.
Michael Keaton Reprises His Role as Batman in The Flash
Keaton originally portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1989 film Batman, subsequently reprising the role in the 1992 sequel, Batman Returns. The upcoming DCU film The Flash will mark his long-awaited return to the role, with the feature set to deal with the multiverse. Keaton was also set to portray his version of Batman in the aforementioned Batgirl before the project was unceremoniously scrapped.
At any rate, the idea of Hodson penning a solo Batman movie with Keaton certainly tracks, seeing as how she wrote both The Flash and Batgirl. Moreover, many DC fans have long expressed interest in seeing Keaton return to play an older version of Bruce Wayne in a Batman Beyond adaptation. In his initial report, Sneider speculated as to why the powers that be may have pulled the plug on the project.
"...[Gunn and Safran] came in and said, 'Absolutely not,'" he said. "I'm sure that was part of the condition of even getting Keaton back in the first place... 'You have to develop a solo movie for me.' But I'm sure that they were just like, 'Nope. We're not messing with Batman. Batman is doing great right now, Matt Reeves' Batman. This, everything else Batman -- or Joker -- gone.'" Sneider also seemed to dismiss the idea that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was the one behind the cancellation.