Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett shaped the future of the Batman character and comic books with animated series Batman Beyond. In the same way that the seminal Batman: The Animated Series introduced Harley Quinn and a new Mr. Freeze origin story to the comics, Batman Beyond also received its own comic book series due to the huge popularity of the character, stories, and the series as a whole. Despite the fact that the series ended in the early 2000s, the world of Batman Beyond lives on, with the character continuing his story through the comic book medium. We share 10 reasons why the DCEU needs to give fans a Batman Beyond movie.
The City
Gotham is important in any Batman story; in some sense, it’s a character itself. The Burton/Schumacher movies nailed Gotham in this sense, making the city a gothic, towering metropolis with strange, musclebound statues on every corner of the city.
While the Nolan Gotham wasn’t as stylized, it was still memorable. However, the recent DCEU version of Gotham is just a city with no character at all. A futuristic, Blade Runner-esque Gotham would certainly make for a memorable backdrop to the story.
Fresh Take On Batman
There is only so much you can do with the Batman character. We all know that he is a dark hero who turned the pain caused by his parents’ murder into a driving force for good in Gotham. However, we’ve seen this countless times and we’re destined to see it again with Matt Reeves’ the Batman.
A Batman Beyond movie, on the other hand, would give fans of Batman and casual cinema-goers alike a new and intriguing Batman story to follow, complete with an old Bruce Wayne, and a new Batman in Terry McGinnis.
The Futuristic Style
The worldbuilding required to release a Batman Beyond movie would be immense. Not only would there have to be a futuristic Gotham, but there would have to be new car designs, new fashion, and even new language and slang in a similar manner to the TV series.
The creation of this whole new world would be incredible to watch and immerse oneself in for the runtime of the movie, to see how technology has improved and how Batman fights crime in this new world.
New Villains
We’re all used to seeing the typical Batman villains, such as Joker, Bane, and the Riddler on our screens. While it is always fun to see them return, it would be deeply compelling to see a future Batman battle against some strange, mysterious, and advanced villains.
The Batman Beyond series introduced some fantastic villains in its time, including Inque, Derek Powers/Blight, and Spellbinder to name but a few.
Love Of The Original Series
While fans of Batman were initially skeptical about a TV series with a future Batman and an old, retired Bruce Wayne, they soon came to love the show. Batman Beyond garnered a cult following and due to this, DC Comics started publishing its own Batman Beyond comic book series, introducing the character to the DC Universe proper.
This nostalgia and love of the series, coupled with its recent release on Blu-ray, makes it a perfect time to start considering a Batman Beyond movie.
Future Justice League
While the Batman Beyond TV series was a success in its own right, it was also featured in the very successful Justice League: Unlimited TV series, connecting the future Batman to a future Justice League. Across Batman’s interactions with the Justice League, both in Batman Beyond and Justice League: Unlimited, we see a new League comprised of new and old characters.
This futuristic Justice League could tie perfectly into a wider DCEU, showing potential futures and even parallel worlds.
Old Bat Family
Naturally, due to the fact that series is set in the future, members of the Bat Family are now old, including Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake. This will make for a fascinating movie because it will show what happened to the likes of Batgirl, Robin, and Nightwing.
While we know that Barbara Gordon would become Commissioner and Tim Drake would retire from crime-fighting, the show never gave us an answer to what happened with Nightwing.
Could Tie Into A Flash Time Travel Saga
The existence of a futuristic Batman and Justice League would be the perfect springboard for a connected story involving time travel. While there are already rumors of a Flashpoint story for the Flash’s solo film, perhaps a future story would see the Scarlet Speedster travel to the future and meet a future Justice League.
Rather than having an interconnected story of different heroes joining together, we would see different heroes at different points in time uniting to combat a threat.
Old Bruce Wayne
The inclusion of an old Bruce Wayne in this movie would make it a unique and intriguing watch, not only for comic book fans and fans of Batman Beyond, but also for wider cinema audiences in general. Due to Bruce Wayne’s role as a mentor in this continuity, it allows us to see a different side to the character that we hadn’t previously seen.
In addition, it makes Bruce Wayne vulnerable, which is something that we very rarely see in the movies and the comic books.
Connect The Series To The Burton Films
Despite the poor end to the film series, the Batman movies of the late ’80s/early ’90s are still looked upon fondly by fans, particularly the films directed by Tim Burton. The Burton Batman movies helped launch the character into what he is today, while also helping to start Batman: The Animated Series, too.
Due to the intense popularity of the Burton movies, fans have suggested bringing back both Burton and Michael Keaton in order to make a Batman Beyond movie that ties into the two Burton-directed movies. Seeing Michael Keaton return as an old Bruce Wayne would certainly make for a fantastic film.
