It was a shock to us all when it was revealed earlier this year that Michael Keaton would be returning to the Batman role as part of The Flash. Considering the multiple realities at play in that film, the idea of seeing Keaton and Ben Affleck’s Batman crossing paths is pretty cool, but I also think it was expected to be a one-time thing and that Keaton would exit out afterwards. Well, it seems he’ll be sticking around for a while.
DCEU chief Walter Hamada was a chatty Cathy during a profile piece last week, and one of the things he spoke about was two different initiatives for DC and the world of Batman. Of course, there’s Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and then…well, whoever the Dark Knight will be in the DCEU…
“Coming up, for instance, Warner Bros. will have two different film sagas involving Batman — played by two different actors — running at the same time, ” Hamada said.
Turns out, that other Batman won’t be Affleck. It’ll be Keaton as the main Batman of the DCEU going forward.
The news was confirmed by Brooks Barnes, author of that NYT profile, when asked to clarify Hamada’s comments.
Keaton
— Brooks Barnes (@brooksbarnesNYT) January 2, 2021
Damn, okay. So Keaton will be sticking around for a while, obviously playing an older version of Bruce Wayne/Batman. But what about Affleck? It’s long been expected that his appearance in The Flash is little more than a way to write his version out of the DCEU.
Of course, this being the world of superhero movies, and the notoriously fluid DCEU at that, this could all change. I also wouldn’t be surprised if a new, younger Batman was introduced some time soon.
