There’s been a lot of debate about whetherBatman ForeverandBatman & Robintake place in theTim BurtonBatmanuniverse, and many fans of the more gothic Keaton movies don’t often acknowledge them as official follow-ups. Even if you thinkBatman Foreverwasn’t that bad, a new book by John Jackson Miller titledBatman: Resurrectiontakes place following the events ofBatman, and doesn’t acknowledge the later movies from director Joel Schumacher.
While many people want to see more movies, it seems likely that Keaton’s last appearance as the caped crusader on screen willbe inThe Flash, so books are the next best thing.Batman: Resurrectionis the first part of a duology, and it releases October 15. WhileBatman Returnsis a Burton film, the book is a sequel to the 1989 movie, so don’t expect to see the events of that movie referenced or The Penguin to show up anywhere.Batman: Resurrectionfollows the events of Burton’s first film and the fallout of the Joker’s death. From the synopsis (viaPenguin Random House), it sounds like Batman still has his work cut out for him in cleaning up the streets, even though the CLown Prince of Crime is no longer roaming around.
“But even after death, the Clown Prince of Crime’s imprint can be seen in more than just the pavement. Remnants from The Joker’s gang are leading wannabes fascinated by his bizarre mystique on a campaign of arson that threatens the city—even as it serves greedy opportunists, including millionaire Max Shreck. And survivors of exposure to The Joker’s chemical weapon Smylex continue to crowd Gotham City’s main hospital.”
This Isn’t the First Time We’ve Been Back to Batman ‘89
While this is the first time fans are returning tothe Tim BurtonBatmanworldin prose, it’s been done before in comics. And done very recently. In 2021,Batmanscreenwriter Sam Hamm along with artist Joe Quinones revised the world in a six-issue miniseries, with a sequel series being released in 2023 titledBatman ‘89: Echoes.UnlikeResurrection, the comic series takes place after the events ofBatman Returns, and that gives it more freedom to introduce more characters. For example, the comic series gave readers their first look at Robin and Harley Quinn in the Burtonverse.
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Both comic runs received critical acclaim, and they are worth checking out if you’re looking for more content set within Burton’s Gotham City. The sequel,Echoes,partially adapts theunmade fifth Burton and Joel Schumacher collaboration,Batman Unchained. Unfortunately, if a film adaptation ever came out of these comics or books, it would most likely be without Keaton due to his age. Of course, different actors have proven they can step into the cowl of Batman, but it’d still be weird for something to be set directly in this universe with somebody else playing the role. At the very least, the story seems like it’ll continue through different mediums as long as there’s interest from the fans.
