Bruce Timm’s Batman Beyond is one of the most timeless animated series that showcases a strong storyline, which has broken all the typical Batman myths with its unique animation style. The series is set in a futuristic Gotham City, showcasing Terry McGinnis under the mantle, under the guidance of an old Bruce Wayne.
The series had taken a bold departure from a traditional narrative, allowing room for exploration of new themes and characters that will retain the character’s popularity. However, the show was a result of an impossible demand that could not be met by Bruce Timm and his team members. None of them wanted to work on a new show, as they were already busy with other important DC projects. Hence, they came up with a great solution, creating one of the greatest Batman shows.
Warner Bros. Animation’s Bizarre Demand To Bruce Timm Led To Batman Beyond’s Origin
Batman Beyond is arguably the most popular and flashy Batman show to ever exist, and it is for all the right reasons as the show is unlike any other. However, that does not change the fact that even after 25 years, the show still has a dedicated fan base, and how it used certain characters or events from the real world impacted its story.
Interestingly enough, the show was an unexpected project during the time of its release. As per reports from IGN, Jamie Kellner, the Warner Bros. Television Chief summoned Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and Jean MacCurdy, then-president of Warner Bros. Animation, informing them how the network would prefer a show that depicted Bruce Wayne as a teenager.
Upon hearing the bizarre condition from the Television Chief, Bruce Timm, the producer of the show was shattered and he could not “adequately describe” his emotions at that moment.
“I’m not sure I can adequately describe [my feelings] at that moment. It was surreal, and disappointing, shocking, and dream-like. Like this can’t be happening. It was not the words I expected to hear, let’s just say that.”
He mentioned how they were knee-deep in Batman: The Animated Series and the announcement felt as if someone pulled out the rug from their feet, making him say, “Oh God, seriously?” Timm mentioned that he desired to defenestrate all the current projects, and brainstormed his way to come up with “a new Batman.” He said,
My thing in the room [that day] was… my one overriding desire was I didn’t want to just throw all that [continuity] away. I didn’t want to throw that and Superman [The Animated Series] and BTAS out the window, so I said, “So if there was some way that we could come up with a teenage Batman show that was still in continuity, that’s still built off of the shows that we had already done, the only way really to do that is to go forward into the future and introduce a new character, a new Batman.”
The result was Batman Beyond, but as Will Friedle shared at NYCC 2019 via Looper, the show failed to impress the two executives as they left the room after watching the first two episodes of the show feeling they failed to meet the appeal to the younger audience.
Batman Beyond’s Director Explains Why Warner Bros. Animation Wanted to Appeal Younger Audience
In the same interview with IGN, James Tucker shared that the network preferred to charm the younger audience as they wanted to improve sales by selling more toys and merchandise.
He said,
“We knew the network and the toy company wanted something like that, a future Batman idea. Bruce and Alan had always had tried to push it off because… there are no bad ideas, there’s just bad ways of doing things. The network always seems to pick one. At the time, I was just a storyboard artist and character designer. Bruce and Alan came and told all of us what they told the network. They pitched a young Batman, Terry McGinnis with an old Bruce Wayne. If the network wanted a future show, this was how they wanted to do it.”
The idea worked gracefully because even after so many years, the show stays relevant by boasting a rich and engaging storyline. Each episode had been meticulously crafted to deliver thrilling adventures in futuristic Gotham City, keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats.
Batman Beyond can be streamed on Max.
