Tim Burton Blasts Warner Bros. For Bringing Back His Batman & Superman

The biggest takeaway from "The Flash," besides how much of a bomb it was at the box office, will always be some of the wild creative choices and homages it paid to pop culture lore as a whole. Besides bringing back Michael Keaton to reprise his role of the Dark Knight from Tim Burton's "Batman," there was also a CGI-coated cameo of Nicolas Cage's Superman from his long-nixed movie, "Superman Lives." While fans were upset with the outcome, it's something that Burton has been prepping for. "It goes into another AI thing, and this is why I think I'm over it with the studio. They can take what you did, Batman or whatever, and culturally misappropriate it, or whatever you want to call it," he said in an interview with BFI. "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."

In this case, a reserved frustration over it all is understandable. "Superman Lives" was a project Burton spent a lot of time on. With that said, the director of classics like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Beetlejuice" still carries a lesson learned from his battle with the Man of Steel that he's kept ever since. 

When asked if he could take back his time with The Last Son of Krypton, Tim Burton still appreciates the canceled gig and what he took away from it. "No, I don't have regrets. 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," he said. "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." It's big-budget bumps in the road that understandably demand a thick skin for directors, which Burton has clearly gained. Even now, with his next big picture in the pipeline, patience is key to reaching the finish line.

Next year will see the release of "Beetlejuice 2" marking a reunion with Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Burton's winning "Wednesday" choice for Netflix, Jenna Ortega. It's a film that has been kicked around Hollywood since 1990 and was ridiculously close to completion before the SAG-AFTRA strike began. "I feel lucky that we got as far as we did. It is like 98, 99% done. It was a great experience. It reinvigorated my love of making movies." We might not have Nicolas Cage's Superman, but at least we've got Michael Keaton's crazed, mischievous ghost back for one more scare.