DC keeps stumbling over its own feet trying to figure out what it wants to be, but the answer to one of its biggest opportunities has been sitting right there since 1999. A Batman Beyond animated movie — made in the style of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — would not only silence the critics but could be the franchise-defining moment the studio desperately needs. So why isn’t it happening?
James Gunn Loves Into the Spider-Verse
With DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran in charge of film as well as gaming and animation, there is an opportunity for them to look at the success of the Spider-Verse series and see how their own studio can replicate it.
Gunn is certainly well aware of this, as he listed Into the Spider-Verse as his favourite comic book movie of all time. “This movie works from start to finish. It does not have a bad beat in it,” he told GQ. “I just don’t think that there’s been a better superhero movie than Into the Spider-Verse.”
DC Already Knows How to Make Great Animated Films
What DC and Warner Bros. have in their favour is a track record of producing terrific animated films in the past. From Batman: Mask of the Phantasm to Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, it’s banger after banger. In fact, it reached a point where many fans pleaded with the powers-that-be to let the people in charge of the animated universe take over the live-action slate and bring their storytelling abilities across.
With talented directors such as Jay Oliva and Sam Liu at the helm, there’s already a built-in expertise of how best to create these animated features that connect with the audience. Sure, most of these features have been released straight to video or streaming; however, there’s no disputing the quality of their efforts and the performances on display. If Oliva or Liu received a sweet $100 million budget for a Batman Beyond movie like the Spider-Verse films did, don’t bet against them producing something equally eye-catching and genre-defining.
The Batman Beyond Animated Movie That Almost Happened
Here’s the funny thing: DC did have plans for a Spider-Verse-inspired Batman Beyond movie under the previous regime. On the Hot Mic podcast, scooper Jeff Sneider revealed that Walter Hamada had greenlit an animated feature film featuring Terry McGinnis, and the project had undergone several drafts penned by F9 screenwriter Daniel Casey. However, Sneider wasn’t confident the movie would go ahead, saying: “Do I have high hopes for it? No. I imagine that this is something that is not going to fit in with the new regime’s plan. Which I think that’s fair. Why would James Gunn want to use stuff that Walter Hamada was planning?”
Ever since the Batman Beyond animated series concluded in 2001, there have been talks about the Batman of the Future returning in live-action or even an animated revival. To date, this hasn’t happened, as Terry has only continued to show up in the comics. It’s become frustrating as it feels like every time fans get closer to seeing a comeback, it’s somehow halted in its tracks by some studio nonsense or the other.
Why Batman Beyond Is the Perfect Spider-Verse Rival
Without a shadow of a doubt, Batman Beyond forgoes the dark and gritty nature of traditional Dark Knight stories for a more sci-fi cyberpunk approach. To this day, the animated series still holds up with its instantly recognisable aesthetic of Neo-Gotham and the infectious score. It isn’t too hard to think about what could be possible with the improved technology of today.
Much like the Spider-Verse pushes the boundaries of different art and animated styles, so too could a Batman Beyond animated movie as it embraces every aspect of its roots and dives straight into William Gibson-levels of imagination. More importantly, since it is set in the future, there’s an opportunity to play outside of the regular sandbox and continuity. The story can be tweaked to include all sorts of DC characters, or to even include time-travel elements to bring others to Terry’s world.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners blew away audiences on Netflix with its cyberpunk-inspired anime visual style, and it didn’t even push every boundary it could. Now imagine what would be possible with Batman Beyond if it is backed by a corporate studio that is serious about challenging Sony and the Spider-Verse.
A Spider-Verse Artist Already Pitched the Batman Beyond Movie — DC Said No
The good news is that Hollywood seems to be toying with the idea of an animated movie too. Just recently there was news that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse visual developer Yuhki Demers and writer Patrick Harpin pitched a Batman Beyond animated movie project to Warner Bros. And as we can see from the footage shown by @Vehgeto on YouTube, the visuals were nothing short of stunning. The Spider-Verse style fits perfectly with the futuristic Neo-Gotham world of Batman Beyond.
Sadly, as Demers pointed out on X, the project is not being developed. “5 months ago Patrick Harpin walked into @wbpictures @DCofficial and pitched a Batman Beyond Animated Feature. Before we pitched, they warned us “there is absolutely no way we can do a 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 movie”, but they loved our enthusiasm. We pitched the outline for the entire film, and what started as a ‘never’ turned into a ‘maybe’. In the time since, we’ve been pitching our way up the company hoping to get to @jamesgunn.”
Now There’s a Rocksteady Batman Beyond Game Rumour Too
The case for Batman Beyond getting a serious push in the DCU just got stronger, too. A new rumour suggests that Rocksteady — the studio behind the Arkham trilogy — is developing a Batman Beyond game set several years after Arkham Knight (there is even a job listing). That’s great news for fans!
According to the leak, it won’t be a direct adaptation of the animated series but will be inspired by it, with Terry McGinnis as the new Batman trained by an older Bruce Wayne. The Nemesis system is reportedly back, and the villain is Derek “Blight” Powers. If true, it signals that Warner Bros. is finally taking Neo-Gotham seriously across multiple platforms — which makes the case for an animated movie even harder to dismiss.
