21 Batman Movies That Almost Happened

6. Boaz Yakin€™'s Batman: Beyond

The animated show of the same name was a nice shot in the arm for Batman on TV - even if it was never as good as the seminal Animated Series that had run until 1998 (or indeed the much under-appreciated The Batman that ran from 2004) - and in October 1999, Warner Bros. looked in its direction for inspiration for a new direction for the film franchise. Their conclusion was that it could work as a feature, so brought in show creators Paul Dini and Alan Burnet to script, and hired Boaz Yakin (Remember The Titans) as director.

According to reports, a first draft was produced, but the project ultimately fell apart because Yakin was drawn to the idea of a much darker Batman with a potty mouth, which didn't exactly sit well with the original child-friendly brand of the TV show. That's about all that is known of the project, though it was apparently clear that Warner Bros. were far more keen on adapting Year One, and Batman Beyond was shelved indefinitely in August 2001.

In many ways this is one of the biggest missed opportunities, given how much different it would have been to anything else released, and how intriguing the idea of a futuristic steam-punk Batman would have been.