Exclusive: Michael Keaton Signed On For Three More DC Movies
We've exclusively learned of a three movie deal for Michael Keaton with DC.
This article is more than 2 years old
There are a lot of people that will tell you age is everything when it comes to casting superhero movies. Emphasis is put on youth and physical strength. We need to see Black Adam’s bulging muscles to know he’s the strongest hero around. Dave Bautista, who plays Drax for Marvel, has confirmed that as a 52-year-old actor, he doesn’t see himself playing a shirtless superhero much longer. And then you have Michael Keaton, who is 69 years old and about to return as Bruce Wayne for The Flash, a role we will see him in for the first time in 30 years. What is the role of an older superhero? Is there one? It was surprising enough that the actor returned at all after all this time. Few have dared to ponder that he may be in more DC films beyond this one. And yet, that’s exactly what he’s going to do.
Thanks to some insider information from our trusted and proven source, Giant Freakin Robot has learned that Michael Keaton signed a deal for at least three additional movies at DC. After The Flash appearance with Ben Affleck and Ezra Miller, we will be seeing Keaton as Batman at least three more times. We have yet to learn the specific movies where the actor will reprise his role, but an appearance in a sequel for The Flash seems like a fair guess for at least one of those slots.
Dare we dream to believe that Michael Keaton could be signing on for a live-action Batman Beyond? This would be the best use of his Batman. The Flash will likely establish him as an older, seasoned Bruce Wayne with a lot to offer the younger generation of superheroes. Where better to explore that than in a live-action Batman Beyond? The animated series began in 1999 and featured Terry McGinnis, a teenager taking up the mantle of Batman in a dark and future Gotham City. He learns what it means to be Batman from an elderly Bruce Wayne. One of the creators of the animated series, Bruce Timm, has advocated that now is the time for a live-action version.
Michael Keaton has long been looked at as DC’s best opportunity to make Batman Beyond as a live-action film. Now that they have a deal with him, hopefully, they see the opportunity staring them in the face. Reintroducing Keaton’s Batman to audiences in The Flash and possibly The Flash 2 is an easy lead-in to Batman Beyond.
If they decide to ignore that, though, this multi-movie deal does speak to Michael Keaton’s potential as a Batman father figure to the younger superheroes, in whatever movies he appears in. Nick Fury is kind of a director or mentor in Marvel films. He appeared in the post-credits scene for Iron Man at the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in a way, he helps tie the universe together. At the moment, DC is setting up to have three Batmans with Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and Robert Pattinson. DC is expanding into the Multiverse, which is going to be a lot for audiences to understand. Using Keaton’s Batman to help make these narratives more fluent for audiences could be a great use of his character.
