1989’s Batman star Michael Keaton reveals he’s keeping the door open if Warner Bros. wants him back as the Dark Knight.
“I don’t think about it much,” Keaton said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast when asked about a potential Batman reprisal on the big screen. “Never say never, I don’t think. Everything depends upon something else.”
Keaton proved the most vocal critics wrong in 1989 when he portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton’s adaptation of the popular DC Comics superhero. Following his second appearance in 1992’s Batman Returns, Keaton declined a $15 million offer to star in Batman Forever and it appeared he would never be seen in a Batsuit again.
Fast-forward to 2020 when Keaton signed on to reprise the Dark Knight for the DCEU installment The Flash, where Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) disrupts time and encounters the alternate Bruce Wayne. Warner Bros. initially planned more appearances for Keaton’s Batman including a supporting role in Batgirl and a cameo in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Unfortunately, Batgirl’s release was canceled, The Flash underperformed at the box office, and Keaton’s Aquaman cameo was removed from the final cut. Additionally, a planned live-action Batman Beyond movie starring Keaton as the elder Wayne was dropped after James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed to run DC Studios.
Michael Keaton’s Oscar moment
Recently, Keaton got the public buzzing after a moment at the 2024 Oscars when the actor playfully stared down past big-screen Batman villains Danny DeVito (The Penguin in Batman Returns) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin). With internet memes going rampant, including one comparing Keaton’s attire to ’60s Batman actor Adam West, DC fans are already pushing the idea of Keaton getting one more round as the Dark Knight.
Until then, Batman’s next big screen outings will come in the form of Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II set for release on October 3, 2025, and the DCU’s The Brave and the Bold which does not have a release date.
