A new report claims that a spinoff of The Flash centered on Michael Keaton’s Batman has been canceled following recent shake-ups at Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios. After leaving the franchise following Batman Returns, Keaton is set to suit up again as the iconic DC vigilante in next year’s The Flash movie with Ezra Miller. While Ben Affleck’s iteration of Bruce Wayne will also be back in the DC Universe installment, Keaton’s Batman will have a crucial role in the story. With the Barry Allen-centric film exploring the multiverse, it would serve as a gateway for Keaton to reprise his version of Batman.
It appears Keaton could’ve received his own Batman movie again as a spinoff from The Flash. As reported by The Hot Mic Podcast‘s Jeff Sneider, The Flash scribe Christina Hodson had apparently been working on a new Batman film centered around Keaton’s take on the Dark Knight. The project would have served as a reboot and continued exploring the Caped Crusader after the events of The Flash. It’s unclear how far they got in the process of developing it, but according to the host, the film has now been canceled. The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez has also followed up on the report, claiming it was a Batman Beyond movie that Keaton was set to headline. No one from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery has commented on these reports.
Michael Keaton’s Batman Future Continues To Dim
When Keaton was tapped to bring back his version of Batman through The Flash movie, the idea was to have him as a recurring presence in the DCU. Initial reports claimed that the DCU was eying Keaton’s character to have a similar role to Nick Fury of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it has been extremely unclear in the last two years whether that is actually going to be the outcome for Keaton’s Batman.
If it is true that Keaton was set to star in a Batman Beyond movie, this is the second big project that the actor has lost during his DCU tenure. The plan was to have Keaton’s Batman as the new Dark Knight for the DCU after the events of The Flash movie, which would then lead into the Batgirl film on HBO Max, starring Leslie Grace. Keaton shot his scenes and was spotted multiple times through set photos as Batman in what would have been Barbara Gordon’s origin story. However, following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, the studio made the controversial decision to cancel HBO Max’s Batgirl movie, with Keaton’s material now never getting a chance to be seen.
With two projects now lost, it’s hard to imagine Keaton’s Batman actually sticking around in the DCU after The Flash movie. However, it’s still possible that he will somehow factor into whatever new version of the DCU will exist after the Scarlet Speedster-starring film, just not as part of any Batman Beyond or Batgirl movies. Given the uncertainty about the DCU following several concerning reports this week about DC Studios’ overhaul of the franchise, time will tell what will actually happen to Keaton’s Batman. Despite the fact that DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn responded to the DCU reports, it remains to be seen if Keaton will be appearing as Batman again in the franchise after The Flash.
Source: The Hot Mic Podcast’s Jeff Sneider & Umberto Gonzalez