‘The Flash’ Flop Allegedly Killed ‘Batman Beyond’ Project

Will Michael Keaton ever return?

Michael Keaton Bruce Wayne Batman Beyond DC Warner Bros

The Flash has been struggling to perform at the box office, performing well below even modest projections. This flop seemingly killed a Batman Beyond project starring Michael Keaton.

Rumors of cancelled Batman Beyond projects have been circulating ever since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios. Both an animated project and a live-action movie starring Michael Keaton were allegedly both in development before it was decided Keaton wouldn’t be the main Batman of the DC Universe. According to Kevin Smith, the latter was seemingly in the process of being revived. That is, until The Flash flopped.

“Michael Uslan’s kid, Michael Uslan, Michael Uslan, Benjaman Melniker, two guys whose name have been on every Batman movie and animated film because Michael Uslan went and got the rights from Warner Bros years and years ago,” Kevin Smith spoke in a recently released clip. “I’m sure people have seen him on Batman extras and what not, wonderful guy, lives in Jersey. But I saw his kid at the premiere and his kid was just like- I said where’s your dad? And he said he’s home watching the grosses. And I said why, and he goes if this movie does as well as ‘The Batman’, and ‘The Batman’, Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’, opened at $130 million dollars, so he goes if this movie opens as well as the batman one of the next Batman movie they’re gonna make is ‘Batman Beyond’ with Michael Keaton.”

Opening to $130 million dollars now seems like a cruel joke to fans of The Flash, but the early hype surrounding the movie and star-power behind it could have led to a surprising hit for the studio similar to The Batman. It’s possible that with Michael Keaton being held as one of the best parts of the film James Gunn and Peter Safran continue with Batman Beyond as an Elseworlds project at DC Studios. However, it seemed as though the hope of it tying directly into The Flash crashed and burned with its box office.

The Flash’s DC Universe future

Warner Bros. Discovery already has a script for a potential sequel to The Flash, written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, the man behind the two Aquaman movies starring Jason Momoa. However, James Gunn and Peter Safran did not discuss the Flash sequel during their DC Universe presentation.

Directed by Andy Muschietti from a script written by Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson, The Flash is inspired by the Flashpoint comic book storyline, which followed Barry Allen as he navigated an altered DC Universe. Written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Andy Kuber, Flashpoint radically altered the status of the DC Comics universe and led to the launch of the New 52 titles.

In addition to Ezra Miller, The Flash also features Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as two separate versions of Batman, Ron Livingston as Henry Allen, Maribel Verdú as Nora Allen, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Antje Traue as Faora-Ul and Sasha Calle as Supergirl. Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rudy Mancuso and Luke Brandon Field are also on board in undisclosed roles.

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Anthony Singletary

Anthony Singletary

Anthony has always had a love for stories. An aspiring screenwriter and video editor, he takes pride in connecting fans with the latest heroic news!