Batman fans have been wanting to see a live-action adaptation of the acclaimed animated series Batman Beyond for a long time. Well, it almost happened back in the early 2000s.
During the latest episode of Kevin Smith’s Fatman on Batman, Paul Dini shared that he and his fellow Batman Beyond co-creator Alan Burnett were actually hired to write the script for a live-action adaptation. The movie even had a director attached! That director was Boaz Yakin (Remember The Titans) and the best part is, the studio was looking to cast Clint Eastwood as the older incarnation of Bruce Wayne! Dini explained:
“It was set in Gotham’s future, but it didn’t quite have the fantastic, futuristic edge. It was sort of like an amalgam. There was a little bit of Dark Knight, there was a little bit of contemporary comics and there was Terry [McGinnis] and the suit and everything. It was old Bruce Wayne.”
Dini, Burnett, and Yaki had more of a dark and nihilistic take on the Batman of the future. But, Warner Bros. wanted something a little more family-friendly and Yakin refused to tone down his vision and ended up dropping out of the project, and the rest is history.
So, in the end it’s a good thing that this movie didn’t happen. I’m pretty sure the fans don’t want to see a family-friendly version of Batman Beyond. The animated series itself was dark and leaning into that darkness for a feature film totally makes sense.
Maybe Warner Bros. and DC will eventually finally get around to making a proper Batman Beyond film, but as far as I know, there are currently no plans for it.