Earlier this week, news broke that DC Studios canceled even more future projects as part of its drastic franchise reset. How drastic is it? Well, “Wonder Woman 3” isn’t happening anymore, and “Man Of Steel 2” may not happen either. And there may be some major recastings down the line, including Henry Cavill no longer being Superman and Jason Momoa possibly pivoting from Aquaman to Lobo. Such upheaval happens when a studio gets new co-heads, as DC did with James Gunn and Peter Safran. But only time will tell what’s true in all of this shaking up.
Still, it appears there’s yet another casualty in the long line of DCU projects scrapped. Yesterday, a rumor started swirling around the internet that DC Studios nixed an upcoming “Batman” movie with OG Batman Michael Keaton in the starring role. ComicBookMovie.com now confirms (via The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez) the rumor is true. And not only that, but the scrapped project was an adaptation of the late ’90s-early ’00s animated series “Batman Beyond,” with Christina Hodson on board to pen the script.
News of this project brings the scrapped plans for the DCU’s future into sharper focus. Keaton had a cameo in “Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom,” but Ben Affleck now replaces him as Bruce Wayne/Batman in that movie. Along with that cameo, the Batgirl” movie, and now “Batman Begins,” Keaton’s Wayne would have become a mentor figure for new younger members of the DCU. In the “Batman Beyond” series, an older, retired Bruce Wayne passes Batman’s cape and cowl to Terry McGinness and tutors him in crime fighting. One expects that would’ve been the case in the script Hodson wrote, with McGinness becoming Batman for future DCU installments.
Of course, none of that is happening now. And for those keeping score, “Batman Beyond” marks the second DCU project written by Hodson shelved in the past year, along with “Batgirl.” Hodson also pens the 2020’s Harley Quinn vehicle “Birds Of Prey” and the upcoming “The Flash” with Ezra Miller. But now it looks like Hodson’s tenure in the DCU is over, with Gunn, Safran, and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav pulling the plug on another one of her projects.
It makes sense that Gunn and Sarfran nix “Batman Beyond,” especially since Zaslav shelved “Batgirl” back in August, which reportedly lays much of the groundwork for reintroducing Keaton’s Wayne into the DCU. But fans of the animated series will not be happy about this news. While “Batman Beyond” may not have the prestigious reputation of “Batman: The Animated Series,” it’s still a solid and beloved take on the Batman mythos. Plus, Keaton returning to the role he elevated with Tim Burton would be a treat for Batman fans.
But now all of that is no more. No “Batgirl,” no “Batman Beyond,” and no Keaton cameo in “Lost Kingdom.” Keaton still appears in “The Flash,” but even the future of that film’s release remains shaky. In fact, everything at DC Studios is up in the air right now, save for its 2023 theatrical release calendar. That’s still intact for now. But after all of the chaos and cancellations this year, expect even more upheaval to happen soon.
