In the 1998-2002 period, Jim Steinman worked on a musical based on the Batman comic book series, to have been titled Batman (of course) and produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, a new arm of WB aimed at competing with Disney, whose stranglehold on Broadway with such Disney Theatricals productions as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aida was and remains strong. David Ives was due to write the book, Steinman would of course contribute music and lyrics, and Tim Burton was reportedly chosen to direct, though he later downplayed his actual knowledge of the project.