A Batman Beyond movie starring Michael Keaton has reportedly been canceled by DC

Batman in The Flash
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Michael Keaton has reportedly had another Bat-movie cancelled at DC – this time, a Batman Beyond movie.

After a rumor from Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic Podcast about a scrapped "solo" Batman movie was scrapped (H/T ComicBook.com), The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez followed up by revealing that it was envisioned to be a Batman Beyond movie written by Birds of Prey’s Christina Hodson.

Keaton would, presumably, have played an older Bruce Wayne mentoring a younger Batman. The original Batman Beyond animated series, which ran from 1999 to 2001, saw an elder Wayne (voiced by Kevin Conroy) take Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle) under his wing to help battle a new generation of villains in a futuristic Gotham.

If true, it marks the second project involving Michael Keaton’s Batman to be canceled. Batgirl was infamously canned earlier this year. The movie, which starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, was canceled due to a "strategic shift."

"The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max. Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance," Warner Bros. said in a statement.

Keaton is still expected to return as Batman – for the first time in over 30 years – in next year’s The Flash. What happens after that is in the hands of James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new co-heads of DC Studios. The Hollywood Reporter suggested DC is heading for a reboot-of-sorts, with the likes of Wonder Woman 3 and Man of Steel 2 falling by the wayside. Gunn later addressed the report on Twitter. He said: “Some of it is true, some of it is half-true, some of it is not true, & some of it we haven’t decided yet whether it’s true or not.”

Amid all the uncertainty, here are some new superhero movies you can definitely look forward to in cinemas next year.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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