The Batman movie that’s been near the top of the wish-list for decades almost happened without anyone noticing

DC’s iconic Caped Crusader is in a perpetual state of rebooting, with James Gunn’s The Brave and the Bold set to hire yet another new actor to play Batman in a live-action blockbuster.

By the time the next iteration of the Dark Knight arrives in either 2026 or 2027, we’ll have seen Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson, Michael Keaton, and possibly even George Clooney if those rumors of a self-aware cameo to send The Flash fans home happy proves to be right on the money, play the part within the space of less than 15 years.

Throughout it all, though, there’s one spin on the Gotham City story for which DC diehards have been keeping their fingers crossed to no avail, and we’re talking about Batman Beyond. An adaptation of the iconic animated series was first mooted around the turn of the millennium, but there’s never been anything more than rumor and hearsay to work with.

And yet, a tantalizing tease dropped on social media by Jeff Sneider instantly set the internet alight after it was claimed that the world was almost rewarded with the Batman flick it’s always wanted without anyone even realizing.

Gunn did confirm that animation is set to play a major part in interconnecting the DCU moving forward, but with The Brave and the Bold on the cards alongside multiple sequels to Matt Reeves’ The Batman, maybe the co-CEO won’t want to over-egg a rubber-suited pudding anymore than it already is.

Either way, the mere prospect of a Batman Beyond animated epic inspired by the phenomenal Into the Spider-Verse is mouthwatering to say the least, even if a lot of folks wish they’d never found out in the first place so as not to get their hopes up again.