Earlier this summer, DC fans got some supremely shocking news – that being that Michael Keaton is set to reprise his take on Batman for the first time in 20 years in the upcoming Flash movie. The last time we saw Keaton in the cape and cowl was 1992’s Batman Returns, a highly controversial entry in the Bat-saga at the time but now one that’s highly acclaimed. Alongside its star, Returns featured killer performances from Christopher Walken (Max Shreck), Michelle Pfeiffer (Catwoman) and Danny DeVito (Penguin).
DeVito was asked for his thoughts on Keaton’s Batman return while chatting to ComicBook.com about his new movie, The One and Only Ivan, which hits Disney Plus this Friday. Among other things, the actor said that he’s very excited to see his old friend and co-star back in the DC universe in the Scarlet Speedster’s solo movie.
“I think it’s great,” DeVito said. “I think it’s a great series and I think it’s a wonderful story and it’s a lot of fun and a lot of energy and I loved Oswald Cobblepot, and I love Tim Burton. We’ve done four or five movies together. I can’t wait for him to come up with the next one, whatever we’re gonna do together.”
As DeVito reminds us here, Batman Returns started a long collaboration between himself and director Tim Burton. In fact, DeVito starred in Burton’s last movie, 2019’s Dumbo, which just happened to feature Keaton as the film’s villain, reuniting the Dark Knight and the Penguin for the first time since ’92. ComicBook.com didn’t ask the star whether he’d be up for working with Keaton again as Cobblepot, but presumably this can’t happen due to Oswald’s demise in his first appearance.
Danny DeVito is somehow the last actor to play Penguin on the big screen, though he’ll soon be succeeded by Colin Farrell in The Batman – something which he’s approved of before, too. Keaton’s Batman, meanwhile, is set to make his first DCEU appearance of many in The Flash, coming in summer 2022.
