Batman Beyond movie with Michael Keaton canceled in DC cull

A solo Batman movie with Michael Keaton was set to be an adaptation of Batman Beyond – but it’s been cancelled amid James Gunn and Peter Safran’s shakeup of DC.

Keaton first donned the cowl in 1989’s Batman, facing off against Jack Nicholson and setting the template for the modern superhero movie. He returned three years later for Batman Returns, an altogether darker film that led to a pantomimic gear-shift with Joel Schumacher.

However, under earlier Warner Bros plans, Keaton was set to reprise his role in the DCEU in a big way. He’ll appear in Ezra Miller’s The Flash movie, and he was set to star in Batgirl and cameo in Aquaman 2.

Then came David Zaslav, who nuked Batgirl before it could be released, and ruled there wouldn’t be “four Batmans.”

Michael Keaton’s Batman Beyond movie axed

Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter unleashed a monster with an article covering (and speculating) Gunn and Safran’s DC game plan, including the cancelation of Wonder Woman 3, the possibility of recasting Jason Momoa as Lobo, and maybe even getting rid of Henry Cavill as Superman after his return in Black Adam.

Now, according to Jeff Sneider, Keaton was also supposed to be getting another Batman movie, but that’s no longer going ahead.

FYI @TheInSneider, the "solo" Michael Keaton Batman movie you're talking about that Christina Hodson was writing, was in fact the BATMAN BEYOND movie. pic.twitter.com/I1MpKZiJGG

— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) December 9, 2022

The movie – which was being written by Christina Hodson, who penned Birds of Prey, The Flash, and the cancelled Batgirl – was set to be an adaptation of Batman Beyond, as per Umberto Gonzalez of The Wrap.

Batman Beyond is an animated series that premiered in 1999, serving as a sequel to Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures. It follows an older, retired Bruce Wayne serving as a mentor to Terry McGinnis, who takes on the mantle of the Dark Knight.

It’s believed Keaton will still appear in The Flash movie, which is set for release on June 16, 2023.

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