Batman Beyond Movie: New Details Revealed (Report)

New details have reportedly been revealed about a cartoon Batman Beyond film ordered to DC and Warner Bros.

Back in the 90s, DC created Batman Beyond for Cartoon Network as its sequel Batman: The Animated Series which starred an older Bruce Wayne as he trained the teenage Terry McGinnis to take up his former mantle Iin the futuristic Gotham City.

Years later, when Michael Keaton was once set to replace Ben Affleck as the DCU’s Batman after The lightningWarner Bros. developed a live action Batman Beyond movie starring the 71-year-old actor that has since been canceled.

DC developed Batman’s answer to Marvel’s Spider-Verse

Talking about The Hot Mic PodcastJeff Sneider discussed an animation Batman Beyond film once ordered by DC under the leadership of Walter Hamada – who served as President of DC Films from January 2018 to October 2022.

For now, the project remains in development under DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, and no one on the team has been told otherwise. However, Sneider clarified that development could be halted or canceled if it doesn’t fit into the new regime’s cohesive plans for the DCU franchise.

Fast & Furious 9 Author Daniel Casey has written several drafts of it Batman Beyond film that was intended as DC’s answer to Sony and Marvel Into the Spider-Verse franchise – which has proven to be a critical and financial hit.

The GWW initially revealed that the project was in progress in January 2019, though Sneider’s scoop offered the first confirmation of Casey’s involvement and that the animated film currently remains in development, four years later.

The animated project was said to be separate from the live action Batman Beyond film written by Christina Hodson that was planned to star Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne but was later canceled by Gunn and Safran.

Sneider’s report has not been confirmed by DC Studios or Warner Bros. Discovery.

Will Batman Beyond Movie Survive James Gunn’s DC Cancellations?

Ever since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios, the pair have really had an ax to grind in DC’s arsenal of projects that were in development. This included canceling movies and ending shows that were in development under the old regime and didn’t fit their vision for the DCU.

That said, DC Studios will continue to promote under an “Elseworlds” umbrella for projects they want to do but don’t fit into their DCU plan. For now, DC Studios has only confirmed three “Elseworlds” projects, though there will likely be many more down the line.

Gunn has already made it clear that for an “Elseworlds” project to develop, the quality bar will “be higher than the bar for something in the DCU:”

“The bar for an Elseworlds story is going to be higher than the bar for something in the DCU. Not that we won’t always have a higher bar, but it has to be something extraordinary for us to tell this story outside of our normal continuity and spend the money to do it.”

So, to Batman Beyond to have a chance, despite probably not fitting into Gunn’s DCU plans, Daniel Casey’s script will have to be truly spectacular. Although the fact that the film doesn’t appear to have been canceled yet after four months of Gunn at the helm offers a glimmer of hope.

Sony and Marvel have found great success both critically and financially with it Spider-Verse privilege. Walter Hamada’s DC clearly had ambitions to repeat that success by similarly having an older take on a famous hero mentor his younger cartoon successor.

Only time will tell if Gunn and Safran also see this vision, but how well Beyond the Spider-Verse Performance for Sony may be a factor. But ultimately the decision will likely come down to whether the script is strong enough to warrant investing in it as one of the few “Elseworlds” projects, as setting a far-future story in the main DCU would only serve to limit what can for Gunn to do with Batman.

DC has yet to officially announce any plans Batman Beyond.