Michael Keaton Teases First Shot Of Batman In The Flash Movie Is Great
Michael Keaton revealed that he thinks that the first shot of his Batman in The Flash will be convincing to fans of Tim Burton’s 1989 film. Keaton initially flirted with the role of the Dark Knight in Burton’s Batman opposite to Jack Nicholson’s Joker and duplicated the role in 1992 Batman Returns. Keaton’s description is beloved and helped introduce a new era to the character and the comics. After months of rumours, it was eventually substantiated in April that Keaton would be reprising his version of Batman for Andy Muschietti’s take on The Flash opposite Ezra Miller in the eponymous role and Ben Affleck’s Batman, as well as Sasha Calle as Supergirl.
The Flash will see Miller’s Barry Allen endeavour to travel back in time to stave off his mother’s murder, leading to dire effects for the timeline. The film will feature components of the Flashpoint storyline from the DC comics, clarifying why the Flash will experience different versions of familiar superheroes. In the comics, the circumstances of Flashpoint see Barry Allen waking up in a radically various timeline to his own, one where his mother never died. In this new timeline, Bruce Wayne was assassinated instead of his parents, resulting in his father becoming Batman and his mother becoming the Joker.
Speaking to Collider, Keaton indicated that sliding back into the role of Batman was “weirdly and ironically easy” and that he felt “emotional” in doing so. However, most interesting is that Keaton is annoyed that the first shot of his version of Batman “is great” in his opinion, both in terms of imagery and honouring Burton’s current film. You can read Keaton’s complete statement below:
“[It was] weirdly and ironically easy. A little bit emotional. Just a rush of memories. Without giving anything away, which IcaIcan’te the first shot, not of the entire movie but let’s say the introduction [of Batman], is so good that when we walked on and started talking about a couple of shots and the angles, I went ‘whoa, this is big. This is great.’ I don’t even mean for me. Just the imagery, it’s great. And reminiscent, to some degree, of Tim Burton.”
Michael Keaton in Batman 1989
In many ways, Burton’s Batman and Keaton’s description of the personality helped lay the groundwork for the modern superhero film. Understandably, there was a great deal of enthusiasm around the actor’s improvement to The Flash. Keaton, too, is excited, evidenced by his entry that he felt “a little bit emotional” when he donned the cowl again. It was recently revealed that both Keaton’s editions of the batmobile and Batcave would seem in the film. Still, it’s good to hear that The Flash will pay suitable homage to the 1989 film on a cinematic level as well.
It’s currently ambiguous how large a role Keaton will have in The Flash. Still, it’s commonly understood that that film won’t concede the events of Batman Forever or Batman and Robin, deeming that Batman was played by various actors (Val Kilmer and George Clooney, respectively). Hopefully, Keaton’s impression will be substantial rather than a throwaway event used to induce nostalgia. It’s entirely possible, though, that Keaton’s older Batman could be the Thomas Wayne version, maintained in line with the Flashpoint storyline, and could be a thrilling way of twisting the Batman mythos to suit the new films. Audiences will have to wait to find out when The Flash releases in 2022, but if Keaton is right then, they surely won’t be dissatisfy.