Trailer For The Live-Action DC Fan Film BATMAN BEYOND: YEAR ONE

Here’s a cool trailer for a DC fan film titled Batman Beyond: Year One. This is a live action adaptation and proof of concept based on the classic animated series.

In the trailer, “Witness the rise of a new Batman, under the supervision of a now-retired Bruce Wayne, as high schooler Terry McGinnis balances crime fighting and budding relationships in a futuristic Neo Gotham.”

The fan film comes from writer and director Michael Yu and it is shared in collaboration with the FilmQuest Film Festival, where we are looking to expose some of the radical indie genre films and shorts that filmmakers are creating.

I also included an interview with the director that you can read below!

What was the inspiration for your film? How did you come up with the idea?

The original Batman Beyond cartoon was, of course, the primary inspiration for this. Like other fans, I've always wanted to see this story adapted into a film. After waiting more than two decades, I figured it was the perfect time to try to imagine what this could look like, even if only in short form.

At its core, I wanted to tell a story that would be familiar to diehard fans, while also offering something new and exciting in the sci-fi genre to audiences who haven't seen the show before.

Tell us about yourself. What is your background? How long have you been a filmmaker?

When I was a wee lad - just kidding. I work as a Visual Effects Producer at a studio, though I've been making films with friends since I was a kid. Now, I'm just trying to make films with friends at a bigger and bigger scale each time.

What inspires you to work within genre cinema and tell these kind of stories?

I love that genre films can take audiences into completely new worlds that are so different than our reality. You're still able to convey deep themes or speak on deep subjects relevant to daily life, but you can present it in a way that is imaginative and fantastical. And from that, I think you can reach audiences from across the world, across any cultural borders.

What was your favorite part of the filmmaking process for this project?

One of my favorite parts was doing rehearsals, both with the cast and with our stunt team. At that stage where the visuals only existed in my head at the time, it was cool seeing these performers start to bring the script to life. I also loved when we finally wrapped post production fully, of course, as it had been such a long journey and it was nice to see the finish line at last.

What are you most proud of with this film?

I'm very proud of how much our team physically achieved in scale. So many people contributed to this project, and I think it was monumental how much we built of this sci-fi world on a short film budget.

One of my goals from the start was making sure that we could genuinely take people into the fictional city of Neo Gotham - I didn't want people to feel like we just filmed on a modern street down the block and called it a day. And I think, thanks to the hard work of our cast and crew, we were pretty successful in building a small but convincing futuristic city.

What is a favorite story or moment from the making of the film you'd like to share? 

There was a hilarious moment on set, during a shot where Batman knocks out a Henchman. Tony (Batman) and DY (Henchman) were wearing these heavy costumes with masks, unable to see or hear well.

During this one take, Batman knocks the Henchman out, who falls down out of frame. The camera keeps rolling as Batman is supposed to walk up heroically. However, DY had no idea the camera was still rolling, and he casually just popped up back in frame like a cartoon character and started adjusting his mask, completely unaware.

The whole cast and crew burst out in laughter at how random it looked with the Henchman casually getting up after being knocked out. It was a stressful day because of schedule that day, and this was a moment of fun to lighten the mood for everyone.

What was your most challenging moment or experience you had while making your film?

We filmed on two weekends, and both weekends faced huge setbacks the week before the shoot. On one weekend, our location pulled out just 5 days before. It left us scrambling to find a new location that would work with our art department, and it was insanely stressful getting the whole team to adjust their plans so last minute.

On the other weekend, I got scammed by a propmaker who I had commissioned to make some key props for us. I never received the props, and so we had again only days before the shoot to try to find new substitute props. For one of the prop weapons, we literally picked them up the morning OF the shoot day.

If it did, how did your film change or differ from its original concept during pre-production, production, and/or post-production? How has this changed how you'll approach future projects as a result?

At each stage, the film seemed to grow in scale as new ideas were contributed. It started out as a 6 page script, and eventually turned to a 9-10 page script as new scenes came to mind. The amount of action then expanded as we went from rehearsals into production.

And even in post-production, while working on the VFX, new shot ideas would come into play that were more ambitious than before. It added a lot of stress but also expanded the scope of our film. I feel this will always be the case with any film, and as filmmakers, we simply have to learn to roll with the new ideas that come into play.

Who were some of your collaborators and actors on the film? How did you start working with each other?

My producers Tyler, Phil and Erin were the core team from the start, and I've worked with them for awhile now. From there, we kept expanding to an incredibly talented group of people. Some were new collaborators, like our action designer Jay Kwon, costume designer Susanna Song, composer Alexander Arntzen, sound designer Luke Gibleon, production designer Marc de Bertier. Of course, we also have our lead cast like Ryan Potter and Isabelle Hahn. Other collaborators like DP Ian Hussey and VFX Supervisors Nick Lund-Ulrich and Neil Craig I've known for many years now.

What is the best advice you've ever received as a filmmaker and what would you like to say to new filmmakers?

I'm not sure what the best advice I've ever received is, but I would say to new filmmakers: do your best to find collaborators who can be more than just working colleagues. Find people who you can trust, to become genuine friends, people you can grow with in the profession. When you're making films, it's a long process and you'll be spending a lot of time with them. Having strained relations with your coworkers for such long periods of time can make the process stressful, so it'll be much better if you can build a network of people that you can trust.

What are your plans for your career and what do you hope this film does for it? What kind of stories would you like to tell moving forward?

I hope to continue making larger and larger films each time. Hopefully Batman Beyond: Year One helps with introducing myself and our team to people out there so that we can make the right connections for future projects. I would love to explore all sorts of genres, whether it be horror, sci-fi, fantasy and more - but ideally at the feature film level, instead of just shorts.

What is your next project and when can we expect to see it? 

Hopefully a horror feature film! Nothing to say for now other than, we're trying to make it happen.

Where can we find more of your work and where can interested parties contact you?

I have a YouTube and Vimeo channel under the name Lumis Entertainment. Beyond that, social media can be found either with @mchaelyu or @lumisent.

Bonus Question #1: What is your all-time favorite film?

No Country for Old Men

Bonus Question #2: What is the film that most inspired you to become a filmmaker and/or had the most influence on your work?

Terminator 2: Judgement Day was one of the earliest films I remember influencing me to become a filmmaker. I remember being a child, way too young, watching with my dad and just being in awe of the film. While I couldn't process it at that age, the film was revolutionary within its genre with its technological aspects, and I think that has always pushed me to try to do the same with using technology to push the boundaries of storytelling.