If you have been following the Batman movies from the 90s era, then you must be well aware of Michael Keaton. The actor played the role of Batman in Tim Burton’s superhero movies Batman and Batman Returns in 1989 and 1992, respectively. The movies were a massive hit and are considered among the classic movies of the superhero universe. Actor Michael Keaton was able to efficiently play the role of the dark and broody version of Batman, which was in vogue at the time.
As per the director of the movie Tim Burton, if they chose a large and a strong man like Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role, then he would not need a Batman suit. For the role of Bruce Wayne, he wanted to cast as a man who needed to transform into his darker elements. He had to be someone who wasn’t comfortable in his skin and required a disguise like Batman as an outlet. It had to be someone with two different personalities, like an off-balance common man like Michael Keaton.
Also read- Why Michael Keaton Is The Best Batman (VIDEO)
Michael Keaton rejected Groundhog Day
One of the American classics and Bill Murray’s masterpiece, Groundhog Day is without a doubt among the best ones. It’s hard to imagine the role played by someone other than Bill Murray and seems like the character was written for him. Murray is a legendary actor, who can make magic out of any role given to him. The time loop movie surely elevated his acting career, with wide appreciation by the audience to date.
However, it would be interesting to know that Bill Murray was not the first choice of the producers for the role of a selfish weatherman stuck in a time loop. As per the reports, Batman star, Michael Keaton was first approached by the filmmakers. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2014, Keaton revealed that he had read the script in the early 90s but he didn’t understand the story. Elaborating on the lead character, Keaton said,
“This guy sounds like the kind of wry, sardonic, glib young man I’ve played – and it ended up being so great. But you can’t do it better than Bill Murray did it.”
As the actor rejected the role it was taken up by Bill Murray, and the rest is history.
The classic film Groundhog Day tells the story of a self-centered TV weatherman, Phil Connors. He is forced to relive the same day over and over again until he starts to re-examine his life. Andie MacDowell and Murray played the lead in the film. Released in 1993, it became a commercial and critical success.
Will Michael Keaton be seen in The Flash 2?
The trailer of the upcoming DCU movie The Flash offered a glimpse of the original Batman of the 90’s era. It could mean the return of Michael Keaton as Batman in the movie, which is set to release in June. He will star alongside Ezra Miller as the Flash and Ben Affleck as Batman.
According to the plot of The Flash, it will mark the beginning of the new DC Universe, with the scope of transitioning between meta verses. Barry Allen meddling with the past, unleashed a future that quickly spirals out of control, with no metahumans, Supergirl getting imprisoned, and Batman gets retired. We see two versions of Barry Allen, who seek the assistance of Batman. But the twist is that he is not the same Batman with whom Barry collaborated in Justice League. The older version of the Dark Knight is played by the classic Batman star, Michael Keaton. Apparently, he will be reprising the role for the first time after almost three decades.
Source- Independent
