Ben Affleck might have been stealing the Batman-related headlines after being confirmed for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but the only reason why he even shot a cameo is because of The Flash.
The Scarlet Speedster’s solo debut was initially supposed to arrive before Jason Momoa’s sequel, and Michael Keaton would have been the one popping up as Bruce Wayne. Now that the timeline has been shifted, Affleck has answered the call once again, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the DCEU’s dueling Caped Crusaders.
A couple of years ago, telling anyone that Tim Burton and Zack Snyder’s Dark Knights would be sharing the screen and making guest appearances aplenty would have gotten you a funny look, but that’s the way of the multiverse. To be fair, Keaton probably never imagined he’d be suiting up again either, but he revealed why he agreed to his unexpected comeback in an interview with Variety.
“I was curious what it would be like after this many years. Not so much me doing it, obviously, some of that, but I was just curious about it, weirdly, socially. This whole thing is gigantic. They have their entirely own world. So, I like to look at it as an outsider, thinking ‘Holy moly!’. I know people don’t believe this, that I’ve never seen an entire version of any of those movies — any Marvel movie, any other.
And I don’t say that I don’t watch that because I’m highbrow — trust me! It’s not that. It’s just that there’s very little things I watch. I start watching something, and think it is great and I watch three episodes, but I have other shit to do! So I thought, why not? It’s cool to drop in and I’m curious to see if I can pull it off.”
He may have been jettisoned from Aquaman 2, but we’ve still got The Flash and Batgirl to look forward to, as Keaton’s second wind as Batman begins in earnest, something fans can’t wait to see.
