Director Tim Burton came close to directing several superhero movies that didn't get made, and here's why they didn't happen. Today, superhero movies, mostly based on characters created by Marvel and DC, dominate the box office in a way that no one likely ever imagined prior to the success of Christopher Nolan's Spider-Man franchises in the early 2000s, big superhero movie hits were few and far between.
One such major success story though was Burton's 1989 Burton's Batman was the biggest hit of 1989, and both Burton and Keaton would return for the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, which wasn't as big but is today quite fondly ed.
Sadly, Burton's never returned to the comic book superhero genre since his brushes with Gotham City, but that's not for lack of wanting to. In fact, Burton has come very close to directing three other DC-based superhero movies since Batman Returns, but for various reasons, none of those projects ever came to fruition. Here's a look at all three and why they went unrealized.
Catwoman
One of the biggest attractions to be found in Tim Burton's Batman movies were the supervillains used, those being The Joker in the first movie and the team of The Penguin and Catwoman in Batman Returns. As with many portrayals of Catwoman on film, Selina Kyle ends up more of an antihero than a villain, and even though she appears to die, it's heavily implied she actually survived the sequel. While Warner Bros. decided to go in a different direction with the next mainline Batman movie, Batman Forever, and Burton had no interest in taking part, the studio did originally want Burton to stay involved with DC. After Michelle Pfeiffer's leather-clad, seductively dangerous take on Catwoman proved very popular with audiences, Warner Bros. decided to make a spinoff about the character, with Burton signed on to direct in 1993.
However, development on the Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman attempt to take a vacation in a Las Vegas-esque resort town called Oasisburg that's run by superheroes. Those heroes turned out to be corrupt, leading Selina to put the leather suit back on and go to work.
Batman Continues
Before Burton signed on to direct the potential Catwoman spinoff, there were initial talks to have Burton return as director for a third Batman movie, called Batman Continues. Keaton was also set to return as Batman, while Pfeiffer was initially planned to appear as Catwoman, and Billy Dee Williams' Harvey Dent would finally evolve into Two-Face. The Riddler would've appeared as well, played by none other than Robin Williams. To top things off, Marlon Wayans was set to debut as Robin, after almost appearing in Batman Returns.
Unfortunately, all that was basically tossed aside when Warner Bros. decided to go in a more family-friendly direction with director Joel Schumacher, the result of which was ultimately Batman Forever. The studio ostensibly did that due to their being lower box office and merchandise sales for Batman Returns than the 1989 Batman earned, and controversy among some self-appointed moral guardians about such a dark movie being marketed toward kids. Burton received a largely ceremonial producer credit on Batman Forever, while Keaton ended up leaving entirely and being replaced by Val Kilmer. Wayans was replaced by Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Robin Williams was replaced by Jim Carrey as Riddler, and Billy Dee Williams was replaced by Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face. All three actors were quite upset, although Wayans' contract did end up paying him six figures to not actually appear in Batman Forever.
Superman Lives
Originally planned to begin production in 1998, almost star Nicolas Cage. To make an exceedingly long story short, producer Jon Peters was in control of Superman's movie rights by that point, meaning everything had to go through him.
It was Smith who made the suggestion that Burton should direct, and he agreed to do so. Unfortunately, both men had massive creative disagreements with Peters, and Smith and Burton weren't exactly on the same page either, with the director immediately having Smith's script rewritten by a new writer, leading to huge changes to the story. After a year or so of wrangling, Warner Bros. put Superman Lives on hold, and Burton departed, leaving quite frustrated that he'd wasted so much time on the unfinished project. The movie would, of course, never get made, with a new Superman movie not finally materializing until The Flash movie.
