Tim Burton wasn’t too excited to see Michael Keaton and Nicolas Cage in The Flash. In a new interview, the filmmaker said he’s in a “quiet revolt” against big film studios like Warner Bros. — who infamously scrapped his Cage-starring Superman Lives three weeks before filming was set to begin in 1998.
The story goes that, following the success of 1989’s Batman — which starred Keaton as Bruce Wayne — Warner Bros. brought Burton back a few years later to continue the Man of Steel’s on-screen story with Superman Lives. But Warner Bros. and producer Jon Peters never quite got on the same page with Burton creatively, and after two years in pre-production, the studio abandoned the project.
“No, I don’t have regrets,” Burton told the British Film Institute of the time he spent on the film. “I will say this: when you work that long on a project and it doesn’t happen, it affects you for the rest of your life. Because you get passionate about things, and each thing is an unknown journey, and it wasn’t there yet. But it’s one of those experiences that never leaves you, a little bit.”
So it makes sense that briefly seeing Cage as Superman in this year’s The Flash would be a bit painful for Burton — not to mention Keaton also portrays Batman in the new film, too. Burton’s naturally a bit protective of his characters, and he even compared Warner Bros.’ unsolicited inclusion of them in The Flash to the recent trend of studios using AI to replicate characters or other film concepts.
“Also it goes into another AI thing, and this is why I think I’m over it with the studio,” Burton went on. “They can take what you did, Batman or whatever, and culturally misappropriate it, or whatever you want to call it. Even though you’re a slave of Disney or Warner Brothers, they can do whatever they want. So in my latter years of life, I’m in quiet revolt against all this.”
Just earlier this month, Burton aired his grievances with people using AI to recreate classic Disney characters in his distinct animation style. And while the ongoing WGA strike means we’ll have to wait a bit longer for his Beetlejuice sequel, DC will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Batman next year with a concert tour of the movie’s score. Grab tickets at StubHub, or Viagogo for the international dates.
