Aside from Harley Quinn, Terry McGinnis is arguably the famous character to be created for the DC Animated Universe. Viewers watched the Will Friedle-voiced teen protagonist fight crime in three seasons of Batman Beyond (one of the best iterations of Batman) and the tie-in DC movie Return of The Joker, followed by appearances in Justice League Unlimited and other adaptations of the characters emerging in the years after this shared continuity concluded. In fact, there’s been talk of a theatrical animated Batman Beyond movie over the years, and now concept art from a version of this project pitched more recently has emerged that’s getting off major Spider-Verse vibes... and rightly so.
You might recall that back in 2019, rumors of Warner Bros. making a Batman Beyond movie were shot down. Well, not to be deterred, Yuhki Demers, who worked on Into the Spider-Verse's visual development team, and filmmaker Patrick Harpin revealed on Instagram that they met with the studio five months ago to pitch their big screen take on Batman Beyond for the upcoming DC movies lineup. Although they were shot down, the powers-that-be loved their “enthusiasm.” Check out what Demers and Hardin have envisioned for this property below:
Yeah, this definitely feels like Batman Beyond translated through a Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse-like lens, and I say that in a good way. That top image of Terry flying away from Inque in the middle of a busy Gotham street echoes when we see Miles Morales finally web-swinging on his own for the first time during the “What’s Up, Danger?” sequence. These images also do a nice job of updating Neo-Gotham’s look for a new generation, while still retaining its trademark cyberpunk aesthetic.
Considering how critically and commercially successful Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was, turning Miles Morales into one of Marvel’s most famous superheroes and spawning Across the Spider-Verse and the yet-to-be-released Beyond the Spider-Verse, I know I’m not alone thinking it’d be a good idea for Batman Beyond to get the same treatment. And as read in the caption, even though this Batman Beyond movie isn’t happening now, what once started out as a project like this “never” moving forward has turned into a “maybe.” Yuhki Demers and Patrick Harpin aren’t giving up on trying to get this movie made, and they’re using this concept art as a way to gather fan support for their idea.
Although DC Studios is prioritizing launching the opening slate of DC Universe movies and TV shows, there is an Elseworlds banner that’s been set up for projects that don’t fall into this shared continuity, including Matt Reeves’ The Batman saga, Todd Phillips’ Joker movies and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black-led Superman movie. There’s no reason an animated Batman Beyond movie couldn’t be included too, and if it turned out anywhere near as good a product as Into the Spider-Verse, it could easily rake in the money and accolades. So if this project does someday get the green light, count on us to let you know about it.
Meanwhile, the original Batman Beyond series can be streamed with a Max subscription, and a different version of Terry McGinnis will be featured in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Two. As far as the entire scope of upcoming Batman movies goes, The Batman: Part II comes out on October 3, 2025, and the DC Universe’s The Brave and the Bold will see the Caped Crusader teaming up with his son Damian Wayne.
