Michael Keaton was cast as Batman in the late 1980s, and at the time, that was considered a bad decision. Today, the actor is considered one of the best to ever portray the Dark Knight. When The Flash was released last year, audiences saw Keaton return as Batman, which led to questions about whether he would be willing to take on the role for another movie.
Will Michael Keaton Return?
Another event that inspired questions related to Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman was at the Oscars, when two actors who had played Batman movie villains, namely Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, referenced Batman sitting in front of them. Naturally, it was actually Michael Keaton sitting there, who played along from his seat as DeVito and Schwarzenegger presented an award together.
Fans like the idea of Michael Keaton returning as Batman, but the actor admits that he hasn’t genuinely considered the possibility. He did say that he would “never say never” to playing Batman again. However, he also added that a lot would need to happen before he gets the question if he would like to return to the role.
A New DCU Is Being Developed
The return of Michael Keaton as Batman seems unlikely now that the DCEU is getting redone by James Gunn as the new DCU. While nothing is certain when it comes to these kinds of movies, Gunn will likely want to establish his own version of Batman before bringing back any of the old ones.
Among the upcoming DC movies, there’s a Batman movie with Robert Pattinson, the second one with this actor. It is not impossible that in the future, there could be a multiverse storyline where characters from different universes meet, including that of Keaton’s Batman. Some have also suggested that Michael Keaton would be a great choice for an elder Bruce Wayne for a possible Batman Beyond project where Bruce is the mentor of a new Batman.