The Making of Batman Beyond

Film: https://youtu.be/BrdIvTmncbM
Starring: Will Tomi, Hunter Smith
Directed by: Nik Shaw (REANIME films)
Writing Team: Robert Chang, Aron Siva, Jin Huang

How it started

My brother suffered a stroke 4 years ago and after recovering from a near death injury, he started writing a Batman Beyond adaptation. I was always inspired by my brother, and did everything I could to bring this film to light. 

After moving to LA in Nov 2018, I met Scott Eriksson, a talent manager at ACE. We began working together, and I pitched him our original TV script for Batman. He told me to speak to Nik Shaw, who does live action remakes of animes, to see if there would be a synergy in our creative endeavors. 

After a brief conversation, Nik decided that we would be able to make a live-action adaptation happen, by launching a short webisode on his REANIME youtube channel. At the time, their channel was picking up traction with their live action Naruto and Tokyo Ghoul remakes. 

I spoke with my team (Robert Chang, Aron Siva, and Jin Huang) and they started hacking away, creating multiple drafts of potential short films of Batman Beyond. We knew we wanted to show the humanness of Terry and how he’s different than the other Batman’s, as well as some sick action to get our fans excited. We eventually settled on this scene, based on the animated Return of the Joker movie. Nik agreed because it seemed right in the arena of REANIME, and would be (somewhat) affordable to make. He also assumed the director position. 

Training

Preparing for Batman was no joke. When it came to training, our scene called for a back handspring, something I’ve never performed before. I was also recovering from a major back injury, so it was even more daunting of a move to tackle. After 4 months (March-July) of preparation, and re-injuring my back from practicing back handsprings, I was somewhat confident I’d be able to hit this on the day. 

Other training included Capoeira and Muay Thai, for the movability and the fight instincts of Terry. I also did a lot of Bosu ball balance training with my eyes closed (which came in handy later on). Here are my full training highlights.

The Suit

Everyone knows the suit is everything. Well... it was. When we started a conversation of creating the suit, it was March. It took 4 months, 15 revisions, and a change of costumers to finally get something close to what we wanted. 

Viktoriia Vlasenko, an award winning costumer, worked tirelessly, to produce a wetsuit (hero suit) that I dropped 10 lbs to fit into, and a stretchy stunt suit for my fight and backhand spring. The hero suit took 3 people and plastic bags to get into, and would often rip the helpers’ hands from friction of the material. Ovidio Jimenez, one of our producers, joked to create a zipper so I could pee. I laughed at the suggestion, but had an ounce of regret when it came to the day of.. haha. 

Casting Joker

Me and my team put out a casting breakdown with code names in the sides to encourage originality. Hunter Smith was the third self tape that I opened up, and immediately I knew he was it. I sent his tape to my team and they were nothing short of blown away by his embodiment of the character. We held callbacks with a few other people, and Hunter was still the exact Joker we were looking for. And you’ll know exactly why when you watch our film. 

Fight Choreography 

We knew we wanted to stay close to the animation for the sake of story, as well as add some original “flavor”. I called up a fellow actor and stuntman by the name of Chris Yong, and he was kind enough to join us in creating the choreography. Coincidentally, Hunter had worked with Chris in the past, so synergy was seamless. 

Me and Hunter met up for practice multiple times, some with the director and choreographer, some without. I was so fortunate to have Hunter be very skilled in stunts already, as it made practice 100x easier. Yep, as ironic as it is, Joker helped Batman with some moves. 

The Shoot

July 22 and July 23 of 2019.. I will never forget those dates. 6pm-6am both days, in what would be the most difficult shoot of my career. 

I got there early to get into the suit. After a few minutes, I was drenched in sweat. Our first shot was Batman jumping 20 feet down to crash mats so we could simulate flying in reverse. 

As if being in a hot wet suit wasn’t bad enough, I put the cowl on and realized that I could barely see in the dark warehouse. I guess the cowl was more for aesthetics, but I literally had a blindfold on my face. But at this point, there was no turning back. 

For the entire 2 day shoot, I relied on the Joker’s voice, muscle memory, and my blind bosu ball training. Looking back at it now, it might have been a blessing I couldn’t see - I’m scared of heights😅

What I was amazed about the most was how efficient everyone was. Nik, the director knew exactly what he wanted, Chris the DP had a vision like a hawk, and our AD Michael was a floor general. All the departments worked together like the parts of moving car. After 2 bumpy overnight rides, we made it out sleep deprived but alive. 

I’m really thankful we were able to create and bring light to an iconic character in a different way, as well as paint a road for a bigger world. We have a 60 page TV pilot ready to get the gears churning. Let’s go DC! 

- Will Tomi 

Why Batman Beyond? 

Aron Siva (writer/exec producer) - “My friend (Robert Chang) told me about an unfinished script he wrote in the hospital while recovering from surgery. We were both unsatisfied at the time with DCs direction pertaining to their live action/cinematic franchises so we decided we could take matters into our own hands and build an original story. What originally started as a 10 page prologue eventually developed into a 60 page TV pilot.

I grew up watching and admiring superheroes from a very young age and the virtues and qualities l learned from that time (selflessness, courage, bravery, loyalty, etc) still profoundly resonate with me to this day. This is why I am so passionate about getting the chance to tell new stories about one of the greatest superheroes of all time (past and present) - Batman Beyond. “

Jin Huang (writer/co-producer) - 

"I've always loved comics and animation, and this way I can bring both my passions into this project as a filmmaker and long time comic book reader.

Will (actor/exec producer) - “I always found Terry to be really relatable for me. We’re both athletes, lost our fathers, and strive to be a hero.. in our own way. We also happen to look alike. “

Robert Chang (writer/exec producer) - “I wanted to adapt Batman Beyond because it’s never been done before and its a character that I grew up with and wanted to see it done justice. Also, he looks Asian. Why can't we have an Asian Batman?”

For more on our story, check out our Behind the Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESasSfGToGs