Michael Keaton in talks to return as Batman

[The Laughing Fish]

The news, apparently official, is that Keaton is coming back as the official DCEU Batman.

https://twitter.com/LightsCameraPod/status/1346185226410717186

Don't screw this up, WB. I can forgive many things. But not screwing up Keaton as Batman.

Don't believe everything you read. Until there is an official announcement by all parties from WB to Keaton and Affleck, take this with a massive grain of salt. The scoop is just a journalist making a guess.

I've gone back further and researched the journalist who is making an assertion about Keaton, and now I've even more skeptical about him. Brooks Barnes is the New York Times journalist who wrote this puff piece about DC Films head Walter Hamada a few weeks ago. It discusses the multiverse concept too.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210102113130/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/27/business/media/dc-superheroes-movies.html

I've heard that Brooks himself is a DCEU detractor, but I haven't checked if that's true or not.

Regardless, if you read the article, it's nothing more about the same old narrative about DC/WB needing to catch up with Marvel (definitely not happening in this day and age), and clearly indicates WB definitely wishes it has nothing to do with ZSJL. Not only does it state that HBO Max financed ZSJL for additional photography, but Barnes claims "studio executives describing Snyde's HBO Max project as a storytelling cul-de-sac — a street that leads nowhere." To me, this reads like WB wishes it could try to keep the Snyder cut buried, but can't because of their higher-ups at AT&T.

Don't forget, WB president Toby Emmerich was the one who lied about the Whedon honouring Snyder's vision and acknowledging Snyder's vision coming to life would only hurt his ego and make him look bad. If he cared about his image then he shouldn't have lied about the whole saga in the first place then.

We'll see what happens in March. If ZSJL has successful viewing numbers and demand for a continuation grows, things we'll get heated.

Going back to the source of this "scoop" where this alleged news broke out.



At the very best, Keaton is going to do more than just The Flash, which is fantastic. But not even Barnes is saying Keaton is replacing Affleck as the DCEU Batman.

This reeks of somebody on Twitter misinterpreting what Barnes wrote, or this some insidious attempt at a hit piece here. Remember, Jason Momoa called the Frosty the Snowman announcement that he was reported to star in as false in an attempt to discourage Ray Fisher over speaking out his complaints in public. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody from WB got some blogs to use Keaton as an attempt to discourage the ZSJL fandom, which just had began their #RestoreTheSnyderVerse campaign a few days ago.

[The Laughing Fish]

Brooks Barnes has now debunked the news.

Been offline (moving apartments) and return to see this Michael Keaton craziness. I was referring to the *one film* that Keaton has been announced as being in, not a set of his own Batman films. If I had info on him beyond "The Flash," I would have obviously put it in my article

https://www.twitter.com/brooksbarnesNYT/status/1346295818836271105

[The Dark Knight]

Don't screw this up, WB. I can forgive many things. But not screwing up Keaton as Batman.

There's talk a Keaton role in Flashpoint would be large, essentially making it a Batman movie. I'm all for that, especially if it became a one and done return.

[Silver Nemesis]

Midnight's Edge has posted an interesting video on the current situation between Warner Bros and AT&T.

If all this is true, then it sounds as though the studio has a civil war on its hands like the one at Lucasfilm.

Don't screw this up, WB. I can forgive many things. But not screwing up Keaton as Batman.

There's talk a Keaton role in Flashpoint would be large, essentially making it a Batman movie. I'm all for that, especially if it became a one and done return.

I'm hoping to see Keaton in at least two new DC films: firstly The Flash, where he'll be back in costume and actively fighting crime like he did in B89 and BR; then Batman Beyond (ideally with Burton involved so it can constitute the concluding chapter of his trilogy), where Bruce will take a backseat mentor role guiding the new Batman. But I don't want the Batgirl film to be the Batman Beyond movie, as some fans have speculated it might be. I don't mind Keaton making a cameo in Batgirl as well, but I want a proper Batman Beyond movie featuring Terry McGinnis and set in a futuristic Neo Gotham. If we get that as well as The Flash, then I'll be happy. The number of Bat-Keaton films will have doubled and he'll have starred in the same number of Batman movies as Chris Reeve starred in as Superman.

I also wouldn't object to a Justice League film, set after The Flash but before Batman Beyond, where Keaton appears in a leadership role before donning the Kingdom Come armour for the final battle. That would be fun. But I'd be content with just The Flash and Batman Beyond.

[The Dark Knight]

I'm hoping to see Keaton in at least two new DC films: firstly The Flash, where he'll be back in costume and actively fighting crime like he did in B89 and BR; then Batman Beyond (ideally with Burton involved so it can constitute the concluding chapter of his trilogy), where Bruce will take a backseat mentor role guiding the new Batman. But I don't want the Batgirl film to be the Batman Beyond movie, as some fans have speculated it might be. I don't mind Keaton making a cameo in Batgirl as well, but I want a proper Batman Beyond movie featuring Terry McGinnis and set in a futuristic Neo Gotham. If we get that as well as The Flash, then I'll be happy. The number of Bat-Keaton films will have doubled and he'll have starred in the same number of Batman movies as Chris Reeve starred in as Superman.

I think it's still likely Keaton continues after Flashpoint, but feel Terry won't happen and he'll be substituted with a female lead.

[Silver Nemesis]

I think it's still likely Keaton continues after Flashpoint, but feel Terry won't happen and he'll be substituted with a female lead.

She could be called Teri McGinnis in honour of Teri Garr who voiced Terry's mother in the original series... Or not.

One of my concerns is that if they do make a BB movie it'll be set in the present day in order to fit in with the rest of the DCEU. Batman Beyond really needs to be it's own thing and should be set in the future. It should take place no earlier than the late 2030s. Or better yet, in the 2040s like Blade Runner 2049.

[The Dark Knight]

One of my concerns is that if they do make a BB movie it'll be set in the present day in order to fit in with the rest of the DCEU. Batman Beyond really needs to be it's own thing and should be set in the future. It should take place no earlier than the late 2030s. Or better yet, in the 2040s like Blade Runner 2049.

At this stage I'm more intrigued by the hypothetical concept of Flashpoint than Beyond. Seeing a BatKeaton who has been fighting crime continuously since 1992, side by side The Flash in an updated but familiar B89/BR suit? That's what dreams are made of. Anything after that in terms of being a mentor (and believe me, I love Bruce being a mentor) would be gravy.

With just the two films under his belt I already see comments online that he's the best. Imagine a nostalgic comeback done right. Wow. That would be real power. Get the B89 aesthetic and Batmobile in there, along with a script the fans want, and his stature would be even higher.

[The Joker]

Midnight's Edge has posted an interesting video on the current situation between Warner Bros and AT&T.

I literally LOL'd when I saw the Pattinson picture used in the thumbnail.

You got Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck looking cool and appropriate, with Robert Pattinson looking like he just walked out of a 2 day coke binge with John Holmes at Wonderland (underrated Val Kilmer movie, BTW).

[The Laughing Fish]

Bad news: Keaton has said he still hasn't signed on for The Flash, and appears to express doubts of returning at all because of the Coronavirus.

https://geekvibesnation.com/michael-keaton-cast-some-doubt-on-returning-as-batman-for-the-flash/

Not gonna lie, after WB's disgraceful firing of Ray Fisher from the film and despicable hit piece today, I hope Keaton and Affleck leave. They don't deserve them, and the studio doesn't deserve any more success if they continue to drag fans and even actors through the mud.

[Gotham Knight]

I was under the impression that he was already official. It may have been an afterthought to Affleck, but he was announced as returning and the Flash director acknowledged him. Very disconcerting to say the least.