Batman Director Tim Burton Doubts He’ll Make Another Superhero Movie

Filmmaker Tim Burton helped change the game of superhero cinema with Batman in 1989, which offered a much darker and more gothic take on a beloved figure than seen in the Superman films, with that legacy still being felt today. Burton also attempted to develop Superman Lives back in the ’90s with Nicolas Cage, and despite his impact on the superhero genre, he currently doesn’t have much of an interest in returning to that realm. Given that the director confirmed he was considering retirement from the studio system, his storytelling sensibilities might not fall in line with Marvel or DC in the near future.

When asked by Variety about potentially returning to a superhero franchise, Burton confirmed, “At the moment, I would say no. Like I said, I come at things from different points of view, so I would never say never to anything. But, at the moment, it’s not something I’d be interested in.”

The last movie Burton directed was Dumbo in 2019 and he has expressed his frustrations about dealing with a major studio and their restrictions ever since. Interestingly, last year saw the release of The Flash, which featured Michael Keaton reprising his role of Batman from Burton’s films, and also included a nod to Cage’s brush with Superman. Additionally, Spider-Man director Sam Raimi returned to Marvel for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022, having been away from superheroes for 15 years.

Between Keaton reprising his Dark Knight, Burton collaborating with Keaton on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Raimi returning to superheroes years after delivering seminal adventures, it would seem more likely than ever that Burton could return to the genre, though he seems to think otherwise.

Even though Batman was an important film in the realm of superheroes, Burton reflected on how he didn’t have to consider the concept of a “franchise” when he was making it.

“I was lucky because at that time, the word ‘franchise’ didn’t exist. So Batman felt slightly experimental at the time,” the filmmaker recalled. “It deviated from what the perception [of a superhero movie] might be. So you didn’t hear that kind of studio feedback, and being in England, it was even further removed. We really just got to focus on the film and not really think about those things that now they think about even before you do it.”

Burton’s latest film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, is set to hit theaters on September 6th.

Would you like to see Burton direct a new superhero movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!