Created and developed by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and Alan Burnett and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation,[2] the series began airing on January 10, 1999 on Kids' WB, and ended on December 18, 2001 on Cartoon Network.

Bruce Wayne, now in his 50s, continues to fight crime as Batman in a new high-tech Batsuit, although he has increased difficulty in handling criminals he could once subdue with finesse and they no longer seem to be afraid of him as he has lost his mystique.

In what was supposed to be a routine mission, the rescue of a kidnapped heiress, Batman suffers a mild heart attack and at risk of being beaten to death by one of the kidnappers, is forced to use a gun to fend him off.

Despite not killing the man, Bruce is ashamed that he almost broke his strict no-killing rule and, knowing his frailty and fearing that he will eventually succumb to his murderous temptation if he continues his crime-fighting, decides to retire from being Batman for good.

The story moves ahead 20 years later in Neo-Gotham, a futuristic version of Gotham City, a megalopolis featuring staggering high rises and flying vehicles driven by upper class society.

It is implied by his virtue of continuing to fight crime for as long as possible and ignoring his aging and deteriorating health (he had retained his former partner's costumes) in addition to his obsessiveness that he had suffered a tragic event years prior to his retirement, which is revealed in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

Terry McGinnis is an athletic 16-year-old high school student and reformed juvenile delinquent with a deeply ingrained sense of personal justice.

Living on difficult terms with his divorced father Warren McGinnis, Terry disobeys his curfew one night to meet up with his girlfriend Dana Tan, only to be harassed by a criminal gang called the Jokerz, who have seemingly modeled themselves after the original Batman's archenemy, the Joker.

The new Batman soon develops his own rogues gallery, such as Powers himself who adopts the name Blight; the seductive shapeshifter Inque; the hypnotist Spellbinder; the sound weaponizer Shriek; the deadly assassin Curaré; the insane terrorist Mad Stan; the cybernetically enhanced African big-game hunter Stalker; nerdy psychokinetic Willie Watt; and a new version of the Royal Flush Gang.

Freeze, Bane, who has become a shell of his former self due to his overuse of venom, which is now being used as slap on patches by corrupt athletes, the longevous Ra's al Ghul, and somewhat inevitably, the Joker himself, reborn via a microchip he inserted into the brain of Batman's former partner, Tim Drake, many years ago.

Terry also makes allies in Neo-Gotham, including computer genius Max Gibson, who discovers Batman's secret identity and becomes his sidekick.

Terry also later encounters Superman and a future incarnation of the Justice League (Kai-Ro/Green Lantern, Aquagirl, Warhawk and Big Barda) and helps them fight an alien threat, although he does not join the group until years later where he presumably only operates as a part-timer like his mentor.

The second time was meant to be the de facto series finale for Batman Beyond: the episode "Epilogue" reveals that Bruce Wayne is actually Terry McGinnis's biological father.

She explains through flashbacks that, even though she grew to trust and respect Batman, she was aware of him aging, getting slower, and getting weaker, thus accepting the idea of either Bruce retiring or being killed at some point.

The eventual result was his wife Mary McGinnis giving birth to Terry, a child sharing the genetic traits of his mother and Bruce Wayne.

While the idea of Batman Beyond seemed as if it were "not a proper continuation of the legacy of the Dark Knight",[8] the series received critical acclaim and a cult following after its release.

[8] Den of Geek, when listing the best episodes of the series, wrote that "Batman Beyond's first year on the air represents the show at its most realized form.

"[9] Creator Bruce Timm has stated Batman Beyond is the most uneven series of the main DC Animated Universe shows, particular in regards to the latter two seasons.

Terry McGinnis/Batman was originally slated to appear in this episode as well, but was cut since Bruce Timm and company were working on Justice League.

In August 2000, Warner Bros. announced that it was developing a live-action film adaptation with Boaz Yakin attached to co-write and direct.

The TV series' creators, Dini and Alan Burnett, were hired to write a screenplay for the feature film, with Neal Stephenson as consultant.

[21] In the later August interview with DC Universe, Paul Dini revealed that Warner Bros. continues to express interest in a film adaptation but have put emphasis on other projects.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. hopes for Keaton to return for multiple DCEU films in a way "akin to the role played by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something of a mentor or guide or even string-puller".

[26] In January 2023, Gunn and Safran stated that there is potential for a future multiverse project in which they may incorporate Keaton's incarnation of Batman.

[27] In March 2023 it was reported that an animated Batman Beyond film had been put into development, written by Daniel Casey and serving as WB's answer to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

[30] Though the androids' source is unstated, they are reminiscent of the story arc from Batman: The Animated Series involving the computer program HARDAC.