Michael Keaton’s classic portrayal of Bruce Wayne a.k.a Batman in Tim Burton’s Batman is one of the most legendary depictions of the caped crusader. The film changed the way superhero films were treated in Hollywood, adding a layer of darkness to the tortured hero that was Bruce Wayne.
However, Keaton’s reputation as a comedic actor was initially a huge obstacle for Warner Brothers Studio to go ahead with the film. Fans reportedly protested against the casting, but Michael Keaton persisted and was eventually accepted. Keaton mentioned that he still does not understand the commotion behind the Batman casting.
Michael Keaton’s Tenure As Batman
Michael Keaton has been synonymous with the Batman role from the 80s until Christian Bale’s iteration of the caped crusader in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. Though the Burton-esque series of Batman films had two more entries, both directed by Joel Schumacher, they did not fare well critically or commercially. Val Kilmer and George Clooney, who played Batman in the films are not typically associated with the character.
Before his commercial breakthrough with the Batman films, Keaton was widely known as a comedic actor. He got his breakthrough in Hollywood when he starred along with Jim Belushi in the short-lived sitcom Working Stiffs. He received even more fame when he was cast in classic comedies such as Night Shift, Mr. Mom, and The Dream Team. He even collaborated with Tim Burton on the horror comedy Beetlejuice, before the two reunited for Batman.
Michael Keaton starred in two films as Batman. He first made his appearance as Bruce Wayne in Batman, where he starred along with Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Burton defended his choice to cast Keaton by saying that the actor had wild eyes which was perfect for the psychologically tortured depiction of Bruce Wayne. After the success of the first film, Keaton reprised his role in Batman Returns.
Keaton departed from the role with the third film, saying that he found the film to be terrible. Batman Forever was directed by Joel Schumacher and eventually starred Val Kilmer as Batman, with Jim Carrey featured as the Riddler. Keaton mentioned in an interview with The Guardian,
“[The film] just wasn’t any good, man. I tried to be patient, but after a certain point, I was like, I can’t take this anymore, this is going to be horrible. But, look, there was some really horrible taste in the 90s, and I probably contributed to that, unfortunately.”
After over three decades, Michael Keaton finally reprised his role in this year’s DCU film The Flash, where he starred as Bruce Wayne from an alternative universe.
Michael Keaton’s Casting Was Initially Met With Large-Scale Protests
At this point, any actor being cast as the iconic Batman is subject to outrage from the fans. Actors such as Ben Affleck and Robbert Pattinson have already faced intense backlash during production and were eventually accepted after the release of their respective films. Even Heath Ledger’s universally loved depiction of Joker in The Dark Knight was met with criticisms when it was announced as he was known for his romantic comedies.
The original Batman, Michael Keaton faced immense criticism from the fans, who reportedly sent over 50,000 letters to the Warner Brothers offices to protest against the casting. The studio also allegedly pushed Tim Burton to cast an action star and tried to rope in Pierce Brosnan. However, Brosnan refused to play a comic-book character.
Keaton mentioned that he did not understand the commotion with his casting and that he still does not get why it was such a big deal, since both he and Burton had the vision. He said 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.’”
The gamble taken by Burton and WB studios paid off when Batman became the highest-grossing superhero film of all time at the time of release and was in that spot until 2002’s Spider-Man.
Source: The Guardian
