After the success of The Batman and with there being two other Batman portrayals appearing in the upcoming The Flash, it seems like Warner Bros. is greenlighting anything and everything related to the caped crusader. Everything except Batman Beyond, that is. There has been a lot of fan demand for a live-action movie adaptation of the beloved animated series over the years, and even though it is still successful in DC comic book form, viewers and readers are still waiting for a sci-fi epic.
Not only is the series interesting because it's set in the future and follows Terry McGinnis under the watchful eye of an even more tortured Bruce Wayne, but it expertly blends older characters with brand new characters. A Batman Beyond movie could make for an incredible coming-of-age superhero movie, and this would be the perfect cast.
Nelson Nash - Jacob Elordi
Interestingly, Nelson Nash is voiced by a well-known actor and one who has a lot of movie roles, Seth Green. However, Green's physical appearance is nothing like Nelson's who is the token jock of Hamilton Hill High School and is always trying to steal Terry's girlfriend.
Australian actor Jacob Elordi not only looks young for his age, but he's a heartthrob too, which can be clearly seen in the Netflix movie franchise The Kissing Booth and in the HBO series Euphoria. It's only a matter of time until he gets more attention and is inevitably cast in a huge blockbuster movie, and Nelson Nash would be the perfect vessel for his rise to that level.
Melanie Walker - Yari Shahidi
Melanie Walker is a teenager who goes to Hamilton Hill, but she's also part of a crime syndicate the Royal Flush Gang, which is run by her family, and she goes by the alias Ten. In the series, Melanie and Terry bond over their complicated, alter-ego-filled lifestyles outside of school.
While it's in a much more comedic fashion, Yari Shahidi's character arc in Black-ish and Grown-ish is full of similar themes of balancing her school life and work life. And though most characters in Batman Beyond are overly serious, Shahidi has great comedic timing and could bring some humor to the too melodramatic Melanie.
Dana Tan - Mimi Keene
As is the case with most characters who are the love interests of masked vigilantes, there are often strains on their relationships, and that's no more the case than with Dana Tan and Terry. But Batman Beyond handles teenage love much better than most other movies or shows.
Though there's a huge difference between cultures in British and American high schools, Mimi Keene plays Ruby Matthews, a high schooler in the Netflix hit series Sex Education. Keene plays a popular but troubled kid perfectly, and, after all, teenagers' emotions and feelings are universal, regardless of their nationality.
Derek Powers - Daniel Day-Lewis
Realistically, it'd probably be impossible to convince Daniel Day-Lewis to act in a superhero movie, as not only is he retired, but he has only ever played characters in dramas. But if he was to act in any superhero movie, Derek Powers would be the perfect role for him. Powers is the evil and corrupt CEO of Wayne-Powers who killed Terry's father, and Day-Lewis has always been at his best when playing exactly that type of character.
Whether it's Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood or Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York, nobody can play a sociopathic murderer more convincingly than the celebrated actor. And though Day-Lewis is retired, he has been convinced to come out of retirement before, as Martin Scorsese lured him out of his Italian residence to play Bill the Butcher.
Maxine Gibson - Zendaya
Ned in Spider-Man: Homecoming coined the term "guy in the chair," meaning the sidekick who does all of the technical work for the superhero and is generally speaking to the hero through the earpiece. And that's exactly the role that Maxine Gibson plays in Batman Beyond. She has genius-level intelligence and is a pretty good fighter too.
Zendaya's name might get thrown around a lot for casting choices given how popular she is right now, but she has never properly been heavily involved in the action despite how many franchises she's part of. Batman Beyond could be the very vehicle for that. And her major role in Batman Beyond could be paired well with the hypothetical movie's director. People think Batman Beyond should be directed by Denis Villeneuve, and as the actor and director worked together on Dune, there's already a great working relations ship there and they could bring out the best of each other in the futuristic sci-fi movie.
Barbara Gordon - Meryl Streep
Compared to the other newer and unheard-of characters, Barbara Gordon's name is more familiar to fans. She followed in her father's footsteps and became the police commissioner of the GCPD, but not before being Batgirl. Batman Beyond sees the character in her final years as commissioner.
Along with Daniel Day-Lewis, Meryl Streep could give a Batman Beyond adaptation the prestige and recognition it deserves. And unlike Day-Lewis, Streep is starred in franchise movies before and doesn't always take herself so seriously that she wouldn't consider a superhero flick. Not only that, but Streep and Day-Lewis have somehow never acted alongside each other, and Batman Beyond would be the perfect, if unlikely, movie to see it happen in.
Joker - Willem Dafoe
Even though it's set in the future and part of a timeline where the character died decades beforehand, it wouldn't be a Batman series without the Joker. While there are loads of great Batman Beyond episodes, the Joker actually appears in the incredible feature-length animated movie, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Just like he was in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond's Joker is voiced by Mark Hamill and is a depiction of the character that many fans actually consider the best.
However, while there are many unique live-action portrayals of the villain, Willem Dafoe could deliver an incredible performance that's actually based on the Batman Beyond portrayal. Dafoe's evil grin, animated gestures, and the surprisingly agile way he moves are exactly the way the clown prince of crime acts in Return of the Joker.
Bruce Wayne - Clint Eastwood
Old Bruce Wayne is one of the elements of Batman Beyond that makes it better than Batman: The Animated Series. The older version of the character is much different from the younger version seen in The Animated Series, as he's unwelcoming, angry, and haunted by his demons.
Clint Eastwood has essentially played that very character for the past 30 years, and playing old Bruce Wayne could be something of a swan song for the beloved Western actor. Eastwood's scowly, uninviting demeanor in movies like Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby perfectly channel the Old Man Logan-like Bruce Wayne of Batman Beyond.
Terry McGinnis - Joe Keery
While Terry isn't as tortured as Bruce Wayne, he has some demons of his own and his father was murdered by a merciless criminal. However, the teenager is different from Bruce in a lot of ways and is very much his own character. Not only is Terry is an athlete, an outcast, and a rebel, but he has to keep up appearances at high school too.
Even at 29 years old, Joe Kerry looks like a high schooler, but an athletic and mature one at that. And he has shown in Stranger Things just how he can play a teenager who is cool and smart and would be extremely successful if he wasn't put on the wrong path.