Although he hasn’t officially signed on the dotted line yet as talks between the two parties continue, Michael Keaton’s return as Batman for the first time in nearly 30 years is widely expected to be a formality at this stage. The news that the 68 year-old was in talks to join the DCEU as Bruce Wayne came out of nowhere, but fans were unanimously on board with the idea almost as soon as it became public, as Warner Bros.’ marquee franchise looks to go all-in on the multiverse.
As well as finally generating some positive headlines about The Flash for a change, Keaton is also heavily rumored to act in a similar fashion to Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, and flit in and out of the DCEU’s various standalone movies to provide some connective tissue and act as either a mentor or father figure to the studio’s roster of superheroes.
If they want him to be their Nick Fury, though, then he’ll have to be tied down to a pretty lengthy contract, given that Jackson has made eleven appearances in the MCU so far with more set to come in the future, and we’ve now heard that Warner Bros. and DC are indeed planning on doing exactly that.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us Justice League Dark and Green Lantern shows are coming to HBO Max, and that Robert Pattinson had snagged the role of Batman – Keaton is negotiating a ten-picture deal that will cover three major supporting roles and a further seven cameos spread out across the DCEU, which is a massive commitment on both his and the studio’s part.
Obviously, The Flash will be one of the more substantial appearances, while Keaton is also being positioned to take second billing in both the long-gestating Batgirl movie and the live-action adaptation of Batman Beyond that fans have wanted for years. As for the cameos, we don’t know where those would be just yet, but agreeing to star in ten movies is a huge ask for any actor, especially one that’s pushing 70, and when you consider that Sebastian Stan still hasn’t fulfilled the nine-picture contract he signed with Marvel Studios in April 2010, we could be seeing an awful lot of the DECU’s veteran Batman over the next few years.
