Michael Keaton is back as Batman in the upcoming The Flash movie and he recently described how it felt wearing the Batsuit once again. Keaton played the Caped Crusader about thirty years ago in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film and in 1992's Batman Returns. Considered one of the best portrayals of the superhero, Keaton surprised fans when he was announced to reprise his role in the new movie.
For years now, Ezra Miller was pegged to play Barry Allen in a standalone movie, with the DCEU Flash movie announced back in 2014. Since then, however, production for The Flash saw its fair share of difficulties, seeing multiple writers and directors attached to and dropped from the project. After several delays, the film was finally redeveloped to be part of the DCEU and began filming with Andy Muschietti (director of It) behind the camera. The movie is now scheduled to premiere on November 4, 2022 with Miller as the titular character, as well as a host of other DC superheroes.
In an interview on the YouTube channel Jake's Takes (via ComicBook), Keaton describes how he felt wearing the Batsuit once again in the new The Flash movie. Keaton describes it as being "shocking normal" but also "weird." Keaton also talks about how he was filled with a ton of memories when playing the role, although he wouldn't confirm if he says the iconic "I'm Batman" line in the new movie. View Keaton's full quote below:
"It was shockingly normal. It was weird. Like I went 'Oh, oh yeah, that's right.' But also then you start to play the scenes and a lot of memories, a lot of interesting sense memories (start to come back)."
Recent set photos from The Flash have revealed Keaton's Batmobile and Batcave in the new movie, which has already supplied plenty of nostalgia for viewers, since they're the same ones used in Burton's Batman films. This raises the question of why hasn't Keaton's Batman updated his "Bat-gear" since the 1989 flick? Will Keaton's Batman have trouble letting go of the past? These questions are further evidenced by the fact that Keaton will not be the only actor portraying the Caped Crusader in The Flash, as Ben Affleck's Batman will also reprise his version of the character in the movie. Affleck recently played the Dark Knight in Zack Snyder's 2016 film, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and both iterations of Justice League. Given The Flash will feature at least two versions of Batman, it will be interesting to see how Keaton's version fits into the movie.
Keaton's casting as Batman in The Flash instantly gave way to praise. Because of his deadpan portrayal of the hero, Keaton's Batman was a hit with critics and audiences when Burton's films were released back in the day. While Keaton's return is highly anticipated his overall impact on the film depends entirely on the purpose of his return. If his version is thrown into the movie just for nostalgic sake, fans may leave the film disappointed. On the other hand, if his return is justified by an engaging story, then people will definitely be pleased.
Source: Jake's Takes (via ComicBook)
