u/odiousasp

Source: https://www.joblo.com/gunmen-mario-van-peebles-christopher-lambert/

Damon Wayans was apparently a huge fan of the 1960s Batman show growing up and when he saw the 1989 Tim Burton film he was disappointed with how seriously it took itself and how there was no Robin because Robin always brought the enthusiasm. It's honestly an interesting perspective on things and how different people had perceptions of the character. It makes you wonder how many other people walked in to that movie disappointed it wasn't like the Adam West series in spite of how acclaimed the movie was by both critics and the general public.

I personally feel Batman can be many things and the flexibility of the character is why he's endured as long as he has. Tackling everything from eccentric supervillains with gimmicks like Joker and Riddler to Dr. No/SPECTRE like criminal syndicates like Ra's al Ghul and his League of Assassins.

Source: https://archive.org/details/comics-scene-v-2-047-c-2c-nov.-1994-a-team-dcp/page/n24/mode/1up

Terminator 2

Universal Soldier

Solo

Captain Picard as a Borg

Virus

System Shock

System Shock 2

Script for cancelled incarnation of NBC's Justice League of America pilot.

After Warner Bros. Television Studios acquired Lorimar Television in June 1988, then Lorimar President Henry David Salzman decided to use the company's new Warner Bros. connections to mine DC Comics properties for potential TV projects. Salzman called then DC Comics President Jenette Kahn and the two collectively decided a Justice League TV series would be the best option with the 1989 Justice League International by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire serving as the main source for the adaptation. After the project was set up at NBC, Jeff Freilich was hired to write the screenplay as he had significant experience in the genre having served as a writer and producer on series such as the 1978 The Incredible Hulk series. Ultimately, NBC passed on the project due to budgetary concerns and the failure of CBS' The Flash leaving the impression that superheroes didn't work on TV.

Jeff Freilich, who provided the script and permission to share it, detailed the following:

"I’d flown to NYC to meet with DC Comics to discuss the story I’d imagined for a television version of Justice League. It was a great first meeting - October 17, 1989 - and I was looking forward that night to ordering room service at the Ritz Carlton and watching Game 3 of the World Series between the Giants and A’s in the comfort of my room overlooking Central Park. Moments before the first pitch, a 6.9 earthquake shook the Bay Area for fifteen seconds, killing dozens of people, injuring thousands and causing billions in damage. 62,000 fans and hundreds of workers were evacuated from Candlestick Park. The game was cancelled and Northern California spent months recovering from the damage. I went down to the hotel bar,its phone bank crowded with panicked west coast tourists unsuccessfully trying to reach friends and relatives. Among them were the Grateful Dead, in town for a concert. I tried a friend in Santa Cruz but all the lines were down. Justice League was suddenly unimportant, I went back to the DC office the next morning but it was difficult for anybody to concentrate on the story. News from the Bay Area of the deaths and damage was saddening and distracting. DC suggested I simply FAX (pre email) the completed beat sheet after my return to LA and discuss notes, if any, on a conference call TBD. We all agreed, however, that if there were ever a show that called for an earth-shattering climax, Justic League was it. The World Series resumed 10 days later - about the same time as I enlisted the help of James Cappe and David Arnott. Two terrific writers and, more importantly, friends. In January 1990, we delivered to NBC a two-hour pilot of fittingly seismic proportions. Attached, please find the very first (and only) draft. We never received notes nor embarked on a rewrite. NBC determined superheroes didn’t succeed on television and the cost of production would be twice that of a standard dramatic hour. Both reasons were llkely true - at the time. The legacy of our efforts was the original concept of everyday people as superheroes - a popular and overly used premise today. And, I still have a wall-full of hand-painted cels of each Justice League member, created by the artists at DC." - Jeff Freilich (July 13, 2026)

After being shelved for budgetary reasons, Warner Bros. Television would revive the project at CBS motivated by the commercial success of Grant Morrison's JLA while still taking inspiration from the lighter hearted Justice League International by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis of the 80s and trying to ape the tone of NBC's megahit Friends. Kenny Johnston who played The Flash in the ill fated pilot said CBS was bullish on the series and hoped it would tap into the same success as Friends hence why he was directed to play The Flash in a similar manner to Joey Tribbiani. The eventual pilot was not well received and may or may not have aired in the United States (honestly a little hard to verify) with bootlegs of the pilot becoming a frequent exchange staple at comic conventions alongside Roger Corman's Fantastic Four.

Archive link: https://archive.org/details/script-for-nbcs-justice-league-of-america-1-25-90

Source: https://archive.org/details/1984-tv-guide-fall-preview/page/A-30/mode/1up

Slide One = (L to R) Steven Paul Leiva, Brad Bird, Will Eisner

Slide Two = (L to R) Gary Kurtz, Will Eisner, Brad Bird

Slide Three = (L to R) Jerry Rees looking over concept art by Glen keane, Jerry Rees looking over storyboards.

Slide Four = Concept art by Jerry Rees depicting The Spirit and sidekick Ebony White during an action sequence

Slide Five = Concept art by Jerry Rees depicting late night rendezvous between The Spirit and femme fatale Sand Saref.

Full story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_(1987_film)#Attempt_at_animated_feature_film

Lost media page detailing collection of surviving production materials: https://lostmediawiki.com/The_Spirit_(partially_lost_production_material_of_canceled_Brad_Bird_animated_film;_1980-1985)

The Last Temptation of Krust