It was touch and go there for a while, but Michael Keaton is now locked in to return as the Burtonverse Batman in The Flash movie. The Scarlet Speedster’s first ever solo film will see Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen traversing the multiverse, meaning that both Keaton’s Caped Crusader and Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne will feature. It’s currently unclear if the two Batmen will actually share the screen in this production, though. In fact, it’s probably unlikely. Still, Keaton may have his eye on a different Bat-team-up instead.
Sources close to WGTC – the same ones who previously told us that Affleck was returning in the film – say that the Beetlejuice star wants to partner up with Robert Pattinson on the big screen. That’s all we know for now, but it seems that the actor is hoping to get the chance to work with Pattinson to save Gotham together at some point.
Ahead of The Batman coming out next March, Matt Reeves’ take on the hero is being pitched as occupying his own, self-contained slice of the DC multiverse. Still, we’ve heard a lot about WB having plans to bring him together with the mainstream DCEU at a later date. In fact, The Flash may well streamline the franchise into a cohesive whole again, with Pattinson taking over as the resident dweller of the Batcave. And if this does turn out to be the case, then a crossover with Keaton would be highly plausible.
As for the Spider-Man: Homecoming actor himself, he’s believed to have signed up for a 10-film deal to float around the franchise, in a role comparable to Samuel L. Jackson’s in the MCU. A Batman Beyond project is no doubt on the cards and while we’ll just have to wait and see if this double Batman team-up comes to anything, Keaton’s comeback feels like something out of the fandom’s wildest dreams as it is, so it’s really not as far-fetched as it sounds.
