Between playing Batman for two movies and portraying Vulture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Michael Keaton has become synonymous with superhero movies — even though he’s not a big fan of them himself. While he may have already been in a lot, he’s still answering the Bat-signal.
Keaton will also once again don his iconic Batsuit to appear alongside Ezra Miller in the DCEU’s multiverse movie The Flash next year. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, he’ll also appear in Batgirl, a movie following Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon’s (J.K. Simmons) daughter and budding superhero Barbara Gordon (Leslie Grace).
Obviously, Keaton will once again reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. I mean, he’s not going to play anyone else, is he? The movie is helmed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys For Life) from a script by superhero veteran Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey).
However, there’s always a catch with these things. The Warner Bros. Pictures listing for the movie cautions that, “Credits are not final and dates are subject to change,” so let’s not get too carried away.
Keaton first played Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman and then again in 1992’s Batman Returns. In the subsequent movies in that cycle — Batman Forever and Batman & Robin — the hero was played by Val Kilmer and George Clooney respectively.
A previous report from THR suggested that Keaton would take on a recurring cameo role in the DC Extended Universe, “akin to the role played by Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.” This rings true with him returning for The Flash and now Batgirl. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him pop up elsewhere in other DC projects, too. As the MCU has already perfectly demonstrated, the multiverse contains infinite possibilities.
Leslie Grace reacts to the Batgirl announcement!
Batgirl couldn’t possibly wish for a more worthy mentor than Batman himself. Once the announcement was made, star Leslie Grace expressed her happiness at the news. “The bat’s out the bag,” she wrote on Twitter.
Batgirl has yet to get a premiere date, but it is expected to air sometime in 2022. At the moment, it is filming in London. In the meantime, we’ll all see Keaton back back as Batman when Andy Muschietti’s The Flash enters theaters on November 4, 2022.
The Batman wants to “beat” Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy
Keaton likely won’t show up in The Batman, a whole new Batman movie cycle starring Robert Pattinson in the title role. For that one, producers like Dylan Clark are thinking more about Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, which is the current high watermark for Bat-stories.
“I’ve said this to Chris Nolan directly: ‘Look, we’re trying to be the best Batman ever made, and we’re going to try to beat you’,” Clark told Empire. “ is interested in pushing this character to his emotional depths and shaking him to his core.”
That movie is scheduled to come out on March 4, It’s gonna be a busy Bat-year.
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