The Flash Reveals An Iconic Michael Keaton Batman Location In First Set Photos
We just a look a look at an iconic location from when Michael Keaton originally played Batman. It's being used for The Flash movie.
This article is more than 2 years old
Whatever reservations Michael Keaton had about going forward with The Flash, fans needn’t worry any longer. Principal photography on Barry Allen’s solo outing has already commenced and Keaton’s Batman is unimpeachably involved. English newspaper Peterborough Telegraph released a handful of set photos featuring Burghley House in Stamford, Lincolnshire — allegedly the site of Keaton’s Wayne Manor. Warner Bros. trucks can be seen circling the house, assembling equipment.
The original Tim Burton/ Michael Keaton version used Knebworth House in Hertfordshire to stand in for Wayne Manor, with nearby Hatfield House serving as the interior. Other sites have erroneously reported the mansion in question as being Knebworth’s house, while others claim Warner Bros. is filming Robert Pattinson’s The Batman rather than Ezra Miller’s The Flash. Both of these are untrue. The location is undeniably Burghley House, a sixteenth-century Elizabethan country manor previously featured in the fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown. And they are filming Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, given that Matt Reeves’s The Batman already wrapped up shooting in March. And these are new photos. Robert Pattinson taped scenes in England but the location for his Batman’s Wayne Manor is presently unknown.
Whether the house is Michael Keaton’s or Ben Affleck’s, we can’t be sure, but judging by the choice of location — an English mansion — it’s likely Keaton’s. Affleck’s version of Wayne Manor, or at least parts of it, were shot in Orion Oaks County Park, 30 miles north of Detroit, Michigan. The DC Extended Universe’s Wayne Manor was a derelict husk of its former self, having been abandoned sometime before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The Joker was implied to have burned down the house following Robin’s death.
Reshoots for Zack Snyder’s Justice League found Bruce Wayne rebuilding the mansion for use as the Justice League’s main headquarters; the location filmmakers chose is Southill Estate in Bedfordshire, so Burghley House could very well be the site of Ben Affleck’s digs, too. At this point, it’s hard to tell. Anything else about Michael Keaton and his Wayne Manor is purely speculation.
Michael Keaton initially seesawed between signing on as Bruce Wayne/Batman opposite Ben Affleck’s version of the Caped Crusader and foregoing the opportunity entirely, blaming scheduling conflicts and strict COVID-19 restrictions. But the Spider-Man star eventually pulled through, and filming has proceeded as normal.
The Flash stars Ezra Miller as the titular speedster, with Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton reprising their respective Batmen. Kiersey Clemons returns as Iris West while Spanish actress Maribel Verdú plays Nora Allen, Barry’s mother. Ron Livingston (Boardwalk Empire) takes over the part of Barry’s father Henry Allen after Billy Crudup had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts with his upcoming Apple TV Plus drama The Morning Show.
Meanwhile, The Young and the Restless’s Sasha Calle will be making her first appearance in the DC Extended Universe as Clark Kent’s Kryptonian cousin Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. The film will be adapting Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert’s iconic 2011 Flashpoint storyline from the comics. It’s Andy Muschietti is directing, with Birds of Prey’s Christina Hodson serving as screenwriter. The Flash, with Michael Keaton, hits theaters on November 4, 2022.
