Given the advances in costuming and technology since Michael Keaton last suited up as the Dark Knight in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns back in 1992, you’d have thought the design team working on The Flash would have created an all-new outfit for the veteran star’s return.
That doesn’t appear to be the case, after Keaton revealed in a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that not only is he wearing the same duds he sported during his initial tenure, no alterations were needed to squeeze him back into the cape and cowl.
When Colbert asked if it would be hard getting back into the Batsuit after three decades and whether any adjustments would be needed, Keaton responded with a simple “I’ve already done it”. That’s impressive when you consider that not only is the Academy Award nominee 70 years old, but the rubber and latex model used for his live-action debut in 1989 reportedly weighed 60 pounds and left him unable to turn his head without swiveling his entire upper body.
It would have been a lot easier to simply ask for a new one, but Keaton clearly had a point to prove to himself when agreeing to board The Flash, having previously admitted that one of the main driving forces behind his return was a firm self-belief that he was more than capable of still playing a convincing Batman, even as a septuagenarian.