Michael Keaton, best known as Batman in that one movie and the dad in that other one, is apparently as excited about his return to the former role in the upcoming DC movie The Flash as the fans. After months of anticipation about whether or not he'd actually show up in the film, the confirmation that he would officially play Batman once again felt like some of the biggest news of the year. Well, it turns out this is more than just a fun callback for the veteran actor.
Keaton, who still runs with the best of them in films like Spider-Man: Homecoming and the upcoming Hulu miniseries Dopesick, apparently sees his role reprisal as an opportunity. At least, he eventually came to see it that way once he was finally able to understand the script. Luckily, after several attempts to comprehend what is apparently a particularly intricate screenplay, Keaton is now fully on board and ready to take another crack at what is arguably his most famous credit. It looks like putting on the Batsuit again for The Flash felt almost like home.
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"I had to read it more than three times to go, 'Wait, how does this work?' They had to explain that to me several times," Keaton explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. But once the story finally clicked, he seemed immediately ready to roll. "Frankly, in the back of my head, I always thought, 'I bet I could go back and nail that motherf*****.' And so I thought, 'Well, now that they're asking me, let me see if I can pull that off.'" So not only is this not just a cash grab for Keaton, but he actually appears to be engaged with the idea of taking another shot at the role of Batman.
While already a well-established actor by the time he showed up in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, Keaton blew everyone out of the water with his performance in that film and its slightly more divisive 1992 sequel Batman Returns. Much like the uncertain reaction when audiences first heard that Heath Ledger of all people would be playing The Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, Keaton received a similar side-eye before the film came out. This was primarily a comedy actor, after all. Why would Burton cast someone like him in such a serious and stoic role?
Naturally, the naysayers largely ate their words when Keaton proved his mettle on the big screen, and now he's one of the highest regarded names among the surprising number of actors who have played Batman. Like Mark Hamill and Jack Nicholson as The Joker, it's almost impossible to think of mentioning the best Batman actors without bringing up Keaton.
So while there's still a mighty long wait before The Flash finally races into theaters, it should be comforting knowing there's genuine passion behind the scenes. Keaton's take on Batman is one of the most iconic versions of the character, and seeing him again in any form is sure to be well worth any amount of time. Though maybe The Flash can pull some travel shenanigans and make it go just a tad quicker.
The Flash is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 4, 2022.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter