Tim Burton is currently not interested in making another superhero movie.

Burton directed Batman with Michael Keaton in 1989 and the sequel Batman Returns in 1992. He was also slated to direct a Superman film with Nicolas Cage, but the project never came to fruition.

Speaking to Variety, Burton was asked if he would ever be interested in returning to the world of superheroes or if that point in his career was over.

What did Tim Burton say about the possibility of directing another superhero film?

“Right now I would say no,” Burton said. “I approach things from different angles, so I would never say never to anything. But right now it’s not something I’m interested in.”

He added: “I was lucky because the word ‘franchise’ didn’t exist back then. Batman felt a little experimental at the time. … It was a departure from the perception (of a superhero movie). So you didn’t get that kind of feedback from the studio, and being in England, it was even further away from that. We could really just focus on the movie and not really have to think about the things that they think about today before you even make it.”

Burton also noted that working on Batman Returns gave him “new energy,” although that feeling quickly faded. “That’s when we heard the word franchise and the studio was like, ‘What is that black stuff coming out of the Penguin’s mouth?’ That was the first time I ever felt that cold wind.”

He also said of his unrealized Superman film: “There’s always this Jason and the Argonauts-style journey that everyone goes through to get a film made. I’ve worked on a few films that never got made after years of work, and that’s pretty traumatic. I just try to focus on the things that I care about and block out all the noise around it.”

Burton’s next film is Beetlejuice, a sequel to his 1988 film, in which Keaton reprises the role of the title character. Beetlejuice will be released in US theaters on September 6, 2024.