Almost as soon as the news broke that Michael Keaton had entered talks to play Bruce Wayne for the first time in nearly 30 years in The Flash, thoughts seemed to immediately move past the Scarlet Speedster’s long-gestating solo movie and onto the possibility of fans finally getting the live-action Batman Beyond that they’ve been desperate to see for years.
The acclaimed animated series was once set for the big screen treatment at the turn of the millennium following the unanimous sense of disappointment that greeted Batman & Robin, but after the project fell apart it was rarely spoken of again. However, it can’t be just a coincidence that earlier this year talk was swirling once more of Warner Bros. mounting Batman Beyond with Keaton’s involvement and then months later, he’s negotiating for a return to the world of DC movies.
With the veteran actor set to play a Nick Fury-like role in the DCEU that could include up to ten appearances, the prospect of the long-awaited Batman Beyond adaptation is closer than it’s ever been. We’ve already heard that The Flash could use the multiverse to introduce Terry McGinnis, and now we’ve learned that the studio are toying with the idea of using a villain that doesn’t even hail from the comic books as the antagonist of their futuristic Batman blockbuster.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us Diana will have her Golden Eagle armor in Wonder Woman 1984 and National Treasure 3 is in development, both of which were correct – WB are planning to include none other than Phantasm as one of the villains in their Batman Beyond film. Originally created for The Animated Series spinoff Mask of the Phantasm, the character became an instant fan favorite and has since become an established part of DC canon, which conveniently includes the seven-issue run of 2015 digital comic Batman Beyond 2.0.
With connections already established between the major players and the studio’s desire to make a Batman movie unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, Phantasm would no doubt be an inspired to choice to act as Terry and Bruce’s adversary. Now we just need to see who they’ll choose to play the role. If you have any thoughts of your own, though, feel free to drop them down below.