Michael Keaton Returns to Batman – Everything You Need To Know
Michael Keaton is Batman: if the year is 1989, that is. Nearly 35 years later, the once, and now future, Batman is back. How did we get here?
Batmans come and go. But sometimes they come back. Adam West famously portrays Bruce Wayne’s hero the Grey Ghost in Batman: The Animated Series. And Kevin Conroy finally plays Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths”.
And now, in 2023 we prepare for the original movie Batman Michael Keaton to don the cape and cowl once more in The Flash. The official trailer is out now. And, yes, Michael Keaton says “I’m Batman”. It is very satisfying.
But The Flash is not the beginning of Keaton’s return as the Dark Knight. At least it wasn’t supposed to be. So, before we talk about what his involvement in The Flash means, let’s give a little tale of the tape and figure out how we got here.
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Why Michael Keaton Quit Batman in the First Place
The first thing to know about Michael Keaton playing Batman is that his casting was not a popular decision. In point of fact, the only reason Keaton plays Batman at all is because of director Tim Burton. The assumption at the time had been that someone like Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner would be Batman. But Tim Burton is not an action director, he’s a goth boy. And as such, Burton needed a Bruce Wayne to fit that tone – and so he fought for Keaton.
Fast forward and, two movies later, people go from hating Keaton in theory to loving him in action as Batman. And there should’ve been at least one more Batman movie starring Keaton. But then Tim Burton left the project and Joel Schumacher stepped in. And that’s where Keaton steps out.
Apparently, Schumacher said of Batman, “‘I don’t understand why everything has to be so dark and everything so sad,” and that’s when Keaton threw up his hands and walked away. But it’s also worth noting that Keaton was just kind of done in general.
“It was a job,” Keaton said on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast With Julia Cunningham. “And then the next one was a job, and I enjoyed it. But then over time — and then the third one, I just couldn’t do. I just thought, ‘Well, this is not good. This is not good. I just can’t do it. I’ll blow my brains out. Just can’t live with myself.’ And so I walked away.”
Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures
From Batman to Birdman
“I’ll blow my brains out” is a pretty dire place to be in your professional career. And so, perhaps unsurprisingly, Keaton moves on to comedies, to drama, he does a little Shakespeare, he turns into a snowman.. a lot of Batman stuff.
But then in 2014 Keaton starred in this little movie Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). And the movie is, in its own sneaky way, a little autobiographical in the sense that it’s about an actor who once played a superhero but is searching for more. And in a way, Keaton’s character in Birdman embraces and accepts the proverbial Birdman aspect of his identity.
It helps that Birdman wins a lot of awards. Keaton is nominated for best lead actor. He doesn’t win, but it’s a substantial victory just getting the nod. And maybe, just maybe, Keaton, like his character, accepts that a part of him is Batman, now and forever.
Courtesy of Disney/Sony Pictures
From Batman to Spider-Man
Did you know that Michael Keaton gave away key plot elements of 1989’s Batman on Letterman before the movie came out? It’s true. He revealed that Jack Nicholson’s Joker killed Bruce Wayne’s parents. Do you know who else is terrible at keeping superhero movie secrets? Tom Holland. Hey, someone should get those two crazy kids together!
Three years after Birdman’s success, Micheal Keaton returns to superhero movies – this time on the Marvel end of the spectrum. And while recently John Leguizamo revealed that he was used as a “pawn” to get Keaton on board, the bottom line is Keaton does get on board. And his performance as Adrian Toomes a.k.a. the Vulture is a massive success. In fact, it was such a success that Keaton even appears in the post-credits scene of Morbius.
Yeah, that was weird.
But clearly, Keaton is embracing the comic book world again. We even know he’s capable of some action work thanks to his turn as a villain in the Maggie Q movie The Protégé. You probably didn’t see it. It’s fine. Keaton fights a bunch and then has sex with Maggie Q. It’s real wish-fulfillment for old, white guys, bless ’em. And all of this is set-up for Keaton’s return as the Batman.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery
Batman’s Failed Return Number One: Batgirl
The DCEU struggles. Movies come out only for people to insist that the “Ayer” cut or the “Snyder” cut be released. Joss Whedon’s career basically ended after his behavior got called out by Ray Fisher, Gal Gadot, and other Justice League actors.
And then there’s Batgirl. Batgirl is the Leslie Grace starring motion picture. J.K. Simmons is Commissioner Gordon! Michael Keaton is an alternate-universe Batman. It’s coming out in 2022!
Wait. It’s 2023. So, funny story. What happened was Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav decided that, even though the movie was basically in the can, it would never be released. Zaslav says the movie doesn’t meet the standards of the DCEU. But also it was a business decision, something even Michael Keaton copped to.
“I think it was a business decision,” Keaton said at the 2022 Emmy’s. “I’m going to assume it was a good one.”
Whether it was a good decision or a bad one, this left things wide open – would Keaton still play Batman again?
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Batman’s Failed Return Number Two: Batman Beyond
Michael Keaton playing Batman again? No way someone biffs on this twice, right? Well…
Christina Hodson, who is a scriptwriter on both Batgirl and The Flash had another DC movie under consideration: Batman Beyond. According to the Hollywood Reporter, executives were excited at the prospect of a movie loosely based on the Batman Beyond animated series. The film would’ve allegedly featured both an older Batman and an older Catwoman in the form of Michelle Pfeiffer.
But then James Gunn and Peter Safran took the reigns of the DCEU and everything started to shift. Sufficed to say that a lot of DC projects found themselves on the back burner in the face of new leadership. And Batman Beyond, unfortunately, found its way onto that list.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery
Batman’s Actual Return: The Flash
The Flash will be in theaters on June 16, 2023. Star Ezra Miller has seemingly done everything in their power to prevent the movie’s release, but it is happening. And now that there’s a full-length trailer out, we even have a sense of what the movie is about. And we have an inkling of what Michael Keaton’s Batman is doing there, too.
The Flash follows a version of a story many DC fans may find familiar. The DC New 52 story Flashpoint features a version of Barry who alters time by preventing his mother’s death. The upcoming Flash movie also uses this concept.
However, in this version of events, Barry Allen must work with an alternate-universe version of himself to defeat the evil General Zod. Zod is in control of this version of events because there are no meta-humans there for some reason.
And the other person Barry Allen goes to for help is Batman – but not the Ben Affleck Batman he’s used to. This is where Keaton comes in. And the big question is this: is Keaton playing Bruce Wayne? Because in the original Flashpoint comics, Allen gets help from Thomas Wayne because, in this alternate universe, it’s Bruce who dies in Crime Alley, not Thomas and Martha.
And that’s everything you need to know (so far) about Michael Keaton’s return as Batman.
