Hasitha Fernando on Batman Beyond as it turns 25…
Batman Beyond was the surprise hit that no one saw coming. Functioning as a follow-up to the universally praised Batman: The Animated Series, the show saw a young Batman fighting crime in a futuristic neo-Gotham with an aging Bruce Wayne as his mentor. As it turns 25, we take a look at what really went on behind-the-scenes during the making of the beloved show and its legacy beyond.
Batman Beyond: The Movie was something of a misnomer
The title Batman Beyond: The Movie was always something of a misnomer, and that was because it was comprised of the first six episodes from the first season of Batman Beyond. “The Movie”, essentially was a merging of the two-part series opener called “Rebirth” and this origin story was trailed by four other episodes – “Golem” (misnamed “Gotham Golem” on the case), “The Winning Edge”, “Dead Man’s Hand”, and “Meltdown” – which were barely connected to one another. Later DVD releases eliminated “The Movie” from the title on the case and proclaimed “6 Exciting Action-Packed Episodes” on the cover.
The brief success of The New Batman Adventures
Batman: The Animated Series still remains one of the greatest and most popular animated shows ever created. Its far-reaching influence on subsequent animated efforts and the lasting legacy it spawned is something that no one will ever dispute. From the top-notch storytelling and exquisite hand-drawn animation to the iconic voice acting performances the show, created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, was truly on another league altogether.
Once the Batman: The Animated Series concluded, Dini and Timm decided to follow-up its success with The New Batman Adventures. The show focused most of its attention on the newly established Bat family and functioned as a revamp to its predecessor stylistically and thematically. Critics and fans embraced this new rendition with much delight but after just one season Warner Bros. suddenly decided to pull the plug on the project, and the surprising reason for it will be explored below.
Dawson’s Creek & Buffy the Vampire Slayer played a role in Batman Beyond’s creation
Back in the late 90’s WB was the most popular television network amongst teenagers and for obvious reasons. The network was syndicating some of the most popular properties out there which were targeting the young demographic. Shows like Dawson’s Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were making waves and becoming insanely popular at the time, so the suits over at WB were possessed with the notion that a teenage Batman would be the best way to broaden the appeal of the IP to a younger audience.
Headed by Jamie Kellner, the head of WB programming, a studio mandate was brought on to kick-start conversations and explore the concept of a young Batman who’d taken the mantle from Bruce Wayne, in a futuristic Gotham and the resulting output of this labor of love? Terry McGinnis.
A new breed of villainy was conceived for the show
To say Mark Hamill’s iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman: The Animated Series was iconic would be an absolute understatement. The talented actor who made waves as a young Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: A New Hope, made the Joker his own with his unforgettable voice acting performance. And the same goes for the exemplary rogues gallery featured in the show and the talent that brought them to life. But what could be done for this new show as far as villainy was concerned? At the end of the day, a hero is only as good as its villain, right? These were the problems that plagued producer Bruce Timm at the very outset of making Batman Beyond.
During an interview with Toonado Timm had this to say regarding the creative process of making a new breed of villainy, “What we tried to avoid was the trap of saying, ‘Here’s Joker 2000; here’s Two-Face 2000’. There was actually pressure on us to do that, because the studio thought that would be a way for kids to hook into the show, but we wanted to do something fresh. We wanted to come up with villains who seemed like Batman villains but were completely new. The closest thing we have to pre-existing characters is an anarchist bike gang called the Jokers, who kind of base their look on the old, long-dead Joker. So, we avoided that trap as well as dealing with all the supporting characters.”
Multiple influences were drawn from several major sci-fi classics
Since Batman Beyond was set in the future, in a more technologically advanced societal backdrop, it was necessary for Timm and Dini to get some much-needed inspiration from several sci-fi classics. And where better to get that inspiration than such genre defining masterpieces as Blade Runner and Akira? The former’s retro-futuristic flying cars and cyberpunk cityscapes played an integral role in helping the art department visualize the look of a futuristic Gotham City. Akira’s neon-drenched urban sprawl and its biker gangs in particular influenced the creation of “the Jokerz”, street punks inspired by the Joker who wreak havoc and destruction in neo-Gotham.
The core of the story was Bruce’s relationship with Terry McGinnis
Batman Beyond’s Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne couldn’t be more dissimilar from each other. McGinnis was a high-school student from a middle-class family living with his mother and younger brother while Bruce was the exact opposite. McGinnis was also more temperamental and hot-tempered, bringing to mind Jason Todd’s volatile personality from the comics, and this brought a sense of unease to the mentor-mentee relationship the two were having. The only commonality linking the pair was that both of them lost their respective fathers to criminals, at a very young age. And it was this tragic, complex, and often conflicted relationship that eventually became the beating heart of the movie and the show later on.
The show was Will Friedle’s first voice acting gig
In a lot of ways Batman Beyond was a risky move. For one, it chose to focus its attention on a younger Batman with Terry McGinnis and for another the screentime given to the beloved, critically acclaimed voice cast was less. Nevertheless, the producers of the show fearlessly forged ahead to fashion a beloved classic that would be revered even years later.
To bring Terry McGinnis’ character to life Will Friedle of Boy Meets World fame was cast, and this was the young actor’s first foray into the world of voice acting. But suffice to say, the performer nailed his role and ended up proving all his naysayers wrong. His unmistakable acting chops also opened doors to other animated projects, such as voicing Ron Stoppable on Kim Possible, Doyle Blackwell on The Secret Saturdays, Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle on Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Star-Lord on Guardians of the Galaxy.
The birth of an unexpected classic that continues to endure
Although hailed as another modern classic by WB animation, at first Batman Beyond was a project that nobody really wanted. The team of Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett were initially skeptical if the idea of a younger Batman set in the neo-Gotham of 2039 would fly, even though the studio was under the impression it would. But in a strange twist of fate, everything eventually fell into place and Batman Beyond turned out to be a bona fide follow-up to Batman: The Animated Series, which saw the old world seamlessly mesh with that of the new.
The show was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards, two of which it won in 2001 for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Music Direction and Composition. In addition, the series garnered five Annie Awards nominations, winning two of them in 1999 and 2001.
A direct-to-video feature film, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, which sought to continue the series’ tale, was released on December 12, 2000, to much critical acclaim. The story saw the epic return of Batman’s archnemesis – the Joker – following a prolonged absence from Batman Beyond’s narrative to wreak chaos once again in Gotham. Voiced once again by the legendary Mark Hamill, the movie functioned as the perfect send off to Hamill’s Joker whilst adding depth to Batman and Joker’s mutually destructive relationship.
Since the show originally aired in 1999, the popularity of Terry McGinnis has only risen with comic books and the printed medium further expanding his story. Further references to the series’ characters have been made in video games such as Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham series as well. In the early 2000’s a live action film based on the IP, with Remember the Titans’ Boaz Yakin attached to co-write and direct, very nearly happened but Yakin’s dark, nihilistic and profanity leaden vision didn’t sit well with the execs over at WB and thus the project was axed.
SEE ALSO: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker – 20 Years On
What are your thoughts on Batman Beyond? Let us know on our socials @FlickeringMyth…
Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
