Who plays Batman in ‘The Flash?’

If you’re willing to look past the misdeeds of The Flash’s lead star Ezra Miller, the hype building up around the upcoming DC film is pretty palpable. It’s been receiving glowing early reviews (which you should always take with a pinch of salt), it’s supposedly going to serve as something of a reset for the DCU (to be continued under James Gunn’s leadership), and most importantly of all – it’s got everyone’s favorite moody Caped Crusader in it – Batman. 

Of course, if you were born after the year 2000, or only started caring about superhero movies post-MCU (no shame in it), you might not be able to recognize what all of the insurmountable hype is all about in regards to the Batmen (yes, plural) featured in the trailer. Fear not, we’re here to break it down for you. 

All the Bat-men in The Flash, that we know of

Going by the order in which the trailer revealed the two Bat-men we know of so far (we could get a curveball thrown our way with more actors donning the iconic cowl), the first was Ben Affleck – who, over the years, we’ve come to affectionately know as Batfleck. Affleck is reprising his role as Bruce Wayne, having first appeared in the role in 2016’s Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. He reprised the role in a cameo capacity in Suicide Squad.

He would then go on to appear in both Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder’s versions of Justice League, and it is heavily speculated that his final appearance as the caped crusader will be in the upcoming The Flash. While Batfleck’s reappearance is a welcome addition to the film, folks are arguably much more excited about the other Batman…

The second Batman we are being treated to is played by Michael Keaton, who was the very first actor to play the iconic role on the big screen. No, we’re not forgetting about Adam West, but he was on television. Keaton returns to the character after a very lengthy hiatus – 32 years, to be exact. 

He first appeared in Tim Burton’s 1989 classic, Batman, before reprising the role for the sequel Batman Returns in 1992. From there, the reins were handed over to his various successors – until now. It’s probably understandable why some older comic book film fans (as well as newer ones who revisited some of the classics) are absolutely stoked for Keaton’s return.