Michael Keaton is in very early talks to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman for the upcoming “The Flash” movie at Warner Bros. Pictures – nearly thirty years after he last slipped on the cape and cowl in 1992’s “Batman Returns”.
The Wrap broke the news, saying it’s early enough that “it is far from a sure thing, and can go either way” and negotiations could be for multiple appearances as an older Bruce Wayne. No details are available about the size of his role.
The film’s story will reportedly explore the idea of the DC multiverse – a shifting number of alternate universes that co-exist within a larger reality. That allows several different versions of the same characters to simultaneously exist and, occasionally, interact (ala “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”).
The recent The CW-DC crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths” fully played out such an idea, incorporating a cameo by Ezra Miller as The Flash meeting TV’s The Flash Grant Gustin along with a very brief return to the world of Keaton’s Batman films (but Keaton himself didn’t appear).
The move also allows for Matt Reeves’ upcoming “The Batman” to not be affected and Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne to remain the future of its own standalone Batman franchise.
Andy Muschietti is helming the new “Flash” with Miller reprising his role in the story loosely based on the time-traveling Flashpoint comic storyline. In it, Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen travels back in time to prevent the death of his mother. The result? Allen inadvertently creates another universe – one protected by Michael Keaton’s now three decades older Batman.
Christina Hodson (“Birds of Prey”) is writing the script. Hodson is also working on an adaptation of “Batgirl” and “The Flash” film could lead to a film where Keaton’s Caped Crusader serves as a new Batgirl’s mentor – effectively giving us a variation on the “Batman Beyond” premise.
“The Flash” is scheduled to begin production early 2021 for a June 2022 release.
