Few films are as iconic as Tim Burton’s Batman. The 1989 film was instrumental in changing the overall direction in which superhero films were made, giving it a more dark, edgy, and almost gothic feel. The film was the beginning of the broody and tortured caped crusader that we know today.
However, the production process for the film was grueling, with multiple rewrites for the script as well as Burton’s controversial choice of casting Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. While fans at the time protested against the casting, Burton specified that he had one important reason for casting Keaton in the titular role.
Development Of Tim Burton’s Batman
Today, the Tim Burton-directed Batman is one of the most iconic superhero films of all time. The Michael Keaton-starrer is still remembered to this day for giving an image makeover to the character of Batman, which had only been represented as a campy, children-friendly superhero in the live-action TV series of the 60s, Batman.
Burton brought in a sense of darkness that was more faithful to the crime-ridden city of Gotham that Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger envisioned in the comics. Despite the waning popularity of the character in films, Warner Brothers studio gave it a green light after the success of the comics The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke, since both were darker iterations of the iconic character.
Initially, Tim Burton was not too keen on adapting a comic book but changed his mind after reading the aforementioned graphic novels. Burton was then known as the director of the comedies Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice. Hence, it was reported that fans were initially disappointed thinking that the film would be another campy rendition of the character.
Tim Burton Was Sure About Michael Keaton’s Casting Due To One Reason
It is quite impossible to see anyone else other than Michael Keaton fit right into Tim Burton’s wild and gothic version of Gotham in Batman. A stark departure from his usually comedic roles, Keaton surprised fans with a restrained and nuanced portrayal of the traumatized Bruce Wayne, giving justice to all the violent things he is depicted doing in the films.
Keaton’s filmography of oddball comedies was the reason why his casting was initially met with a lot of resistance. Fans reportedly sent angry letters in protest to the studios to change the casting. Similar protests were seen when rom-com hero Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, as well as when Ben Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne in the DCU. Keaton addressed these protests, including his own, in an interview with The Guardian,
“I truly didn’t understand why people cared one way or another, and I can’t believe people still care. I just thought, ‘I know what I’m doing, and I could be wrong, but in terms of what Tim and I discussed for the movie, I knew we were right on.’”
Despite the 50,000 protest letters, Tim Burton did not budge against his casting choice. Many other action stars were pitched to Burton, but he mentioned that it did not make sense to him to cast macho actors. He defended his choice for casting Michael Keaton in his book Burton on Burton (via Bold Entrance),
“If you look at Michael, he’s got all those wheels and that wild energy in his eyes which would compel him to put on a bat-suit. It’s like, if he had gotten therapy he wouldn’t be putting on a bat suit. He didn’t, so this is his therapy.”
The gamble paid off at the end, as Keaton’s portrayal was welcomed by the fans and the film became a huge box-office success, earning over $411 million. Michael Keaton reprised his role in Batman Returns and also appeared after more than three decades in The Flash.
