Kevin Smith Hints ‘The Flash’ Bombing Might Have Killed Hope For A ‘Batman Beyond’ Movie For Good
JB Augustine
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The Flash crashing and burning at the box office as it is — and as many predicted it would — could be the final nail for the DCEU but that’s not all the $200 million-and-counting boondoggle is taking with it to the grave. Reportedly, the mess of a film was the last glimmer of hope for the often-rumored live-action cinematic adaptation of Batman Beyond.
Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is tortured by The Dark Flash (Ezra Miller) in The Flash (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
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Fan casting and postulations of this project taking shape began to creep out after it was mentioned on Kevin Smith’s Fatman Beyond podcast a few short years ago. Since then, there was speculative momentum in the adaptation’s favor behind the scenes. Now, however, in a 180, it’s being said that Batman Beyond the movie won’t come to be.
Worse yet, Michael Keaton was going to be part of it as the aged Bruce Wayne playing mentor to Terry McGinnis — which was also routinely reported around the web — but that is no longer the case either. And this isn’t so much on The Flash failing, as those who set out to boycott the film may have been at fault.
Smith even suggested that, were The Flash to underperform at the box office, a Batman Beyond movie would not see the light of day.
This potential Batman Beyond film was in troubled water anyway with the merger and regime change at the DC Films level away from Walter Hamada and his plans, also ousting Keaton’s subjectively triumphant comeback, but Smith revealed something to the contrary on a new edition of his show. He heard from Michael Uslan’s son that the producer was keeping his fingers crossed.
Smith explained he was told the senior Uslan, who’s been attached to every Batman movie since 1989, skipped The Flash premiere to stay home and monitor “the grosses.” Had The Flash performed better and made numbers closer to The Batman, the Batman Beyond project would have been virtually assured. Unless there’s a miracle — or Barry mucks with time some more — we can forget that.
Source: Batman Beyond Vol. 6 #21 “Target: Batman, Part Two” (2018), DC Comics. Variant cover art by Dave Johnson.
The project’s premature demise was brought up months before the release of The Flash, when The Hot Mic shared word from an insider that Batman Beyond was axed by James Gunn. Everything gets more convoluted when factoring in Doomcock’s scoop indicating there was no Beyond film on the table and Batgirl was going to pass the torch from Keaton to Leslie Grace.
Batman Beyond never having a chance at all is also a tenable possibility made more concrete by Uslan himself. Answering a fan inquiry on Instagram, Uslan said the project’s connection to Flash’s box office is not an accurate take at all. He could be obliged to keep contractually quiet by Warner, but taken at face value, Uslan’s word is the last.
Michael Uslan weighs in on alleged Batman Beyond project via Instagram
Or maybe not. Do you still have hope, regardless of what any producer or director say? Enlighten us if you are pulling for Batman Beyond down below.
NEXT: James Gunn Said To Have Killed ‘Batman Beyond’ Movie Starring Michael Keaton
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