After 30 years, Michael Keaton is set to return to the dual role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in DC's The Flash movie, and here's why he's back.
Michael Keaton is returning as Batman in DC's The Flash, and here's why he's back. It's no secret that just about every installment into the DCEU gets compared to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, especially anything involving Batman. That's no wonder, as The Dark Knight is arguably one of the greatest superhero movies ever, and according to many, nothing in the DCEU has managed to equal it, much less top it. Yet, Nolan's Batman isn't the only shadow that looms over the DCEU. There's also the one cast by Tim Burton's two movies starring Michael Keaton.
It's amusing to think about now, but when Keaton was cast to play Batman/Bruce Wayne in Burton's 1989 movie, many railed against the move. Keaton was primarily known as a comedic actor then thanks to movies like Mr. Mom, and there was premature criticism that he wasn't right for the role. Keaton, of course, went on to wow the naysayers, with Burton's Batman becoming the biggest movie of its year. 1992's Batman Returns was no slouch either and is today considered by some to best the first Keaton/Burton outing.
For decades, it appeared that Keaton would never again don the cape and cowl, but that changed when it was announced he's returning for The Flash movie. On a personal level, Keaton has said that he had been thinking about what it would be like to play an older Batman even before he got the call from Warner Bros. about returning, but that the quality of Christina Hodson's script for The Flash is what cemented his decision to come back. With that in mind, it's no wonder that Keaton is now signed on for the also Hodson-penned Batgirl movie.
As for why Warner Bros. made the call to ask Keaton back as Batman, the reasoning behind that is likely twofold. In the last decade, Keaton has reemerged as an A-list actor, and with that renewed attention has come more people looking back toward the Batman movies he starred in, movies made long before the current box office dominance of superheroes. Additionally, DC Films knew full well that for its first big journey into the multiverse to work in The Flash, it needed to feature the return of a true icon of DC cinema in order to stress that the multiverse means anything can happen.
While the decision to recruit Keaton to return as Batman was made prior to the release of Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home, the epic box office success of that film points to Warner Bros. having made the right call to go nostalgic with The Flash. As great as No Way Home is overall, its main attraction is no doubt the return of previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Keaton reprising the Batman role offers that same opportunity for DC, especially since he'll share the screen with previous DCEU Batman actor Ben Affleck. With Michael Keaton excited to be back, and DC excited to have him, Keaton's return in The Flash is a true win-win scenario.
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