Based on the backlash to James Gunn’s DCU, the internet would have hated Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ with a passion

It goes without saying that Tim Burton’s Batman is one of the most important and influential blockbusters ever made for a variety of reasons, but it’s also very easy to forget that fans were pissed when it was first announced.

In a similar vein, the internet has proven to be both a blessing and a curse, so we can only be thankful that people weren’t online when the project was first announced. Not only was Burton savaged as the choice of director coming off the back of off-kilter fantasies Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, but there was outright fury at the casting of Michael Keaton.

These days, there’s a lot of folks who still regard the actor as the best live-action Caped Crusader there’s ever been, but literally tens of thousands of angry letters were sent to Warner Bros. headquarters to protest the decision to cast a star best known for their work in the comedy genre as the brooding and intense Bruce Wayne.

Obviously, we know how it all turned out in the end, but we also can’t help but notice the similarities to James Gunn’s recent reveal of the DCU’s Chapter 1 – Gods & Monsters. There’s been plenty of backlash pointed at the filmmaker’s signature style that seems completely at odds with the tone of several major characters, but the exact same thing was said about Burton.

Alongside Peter Safran, the Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran is poised to breathe new life into a number of iconic figures that don’t jive with his established filmography and skill set, deepening the comparisons even further.

Twitter has been blasting every move he makes, but it isn’t a stretch to say that the exact same thing would have happened in the buildup to Burton changing superhero cinema forever.