Under the direction of James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new DCU may have over fifty ideas to work on, but Michael Keaton’s Batman flick is not one of them. Stated differently, the new co-heads of DC Studio will go above and beyond to revitalize the brand, even though they will not be carrying the ‘89 Bat into the future’.
Since Safran and Gunn took over DC Studios, there have been rumors of a shelved Batman Beyond project. When news broke that Batman veteran Michael Keaton was likely to return to reprise his role as Batman in this adaptation, fans were obviously elated. The excitement reached a crescendo, but unfortunately, things took an unexpected turn.
Yes, amid the excitement, an unexpected twist of fate has ended our dreams. Could Gunn, best known for his work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, have been responsible for the cancellation of this highly anticipated film?
James Gunn to Blame for Killing Off Michael Keaton’s Batman Beyond?
It is no secret that the superhero genre has flourished over the past few years, creating iconic characters and massive blockbusters. One such project that drew interest from fans was the much-discussed Batman Beyond film, which would star Michael Keaton.
There have been whispers that the latest victim of DC Studios’ extensive restructuring was going to be a new Batman flick, starring Keaton as the Caped Crusader once again. Industry insider Jeff Sneider earlier disclosed on The Hot Mic with Jeff Sneider and John Rocha that DC’s new head executives, James Gunn, and Peter Safran, had put the brakes on a new solo Batman story that would have starred The Flash star (via Collider).
In the 1989 film Batman, Keaton played Bruce Wayne/Batman for the first time. Later, in the 1992 sequel, Batman Returns, he reprised the same role. More intriguing—and maybe more pertinent—is that the actor, 72, has already filmed an appearance in The Flash, marking his eagerly anticipated return to the role.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that, despite having Keaton’s Batman at its core, neither Safran nor Gunn were probably particularly enthusiastic about creating a new shared universe for the DC movie franchise. Perhaps there is hope for a Batman Beyond project of some kind, but not with Keaton, whose time in the DCU seems to be running out.
The Flash Director on Michael Keaton’s Batman Retirement
The tragic explanation for why Michael Keaton’s character was no longer Batman in the first public screening of The Flash was disclosed by director Andy Muschietti in a featurette.
“I really wanted to defy people’s expectations of where Bruce Wayne would be thirty years later, and I also wanted to deepen the backstory if Bruce Wayne, as the story tells, has been retired for twenty-five years, what happened to him? I always said something should happen to Bruce Wayne to want to stop being Batman”
The movie disclosed the tragic reason behind the hero’s decision to pack up the Batsuit. He claimed that at one point Keaton’s Batman “killed a criminal”:
“And my idea was, he did something that goes against his code and killed a criminal in front of [the criminal’s] child—not knowingly, but he still did it. Which is an exact mirroring situation of what happened to him when his parents were killed in front of him [next to] Monarch Theaters, and that created the monster that The Batman is.”
That mistake “couldn’t cope with” in Keaton’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne.
Anyway, it is safe to assume that with James Gunn and Peter Safran taking over DC Studios and their plans for a new DCU, Keaton’s run as Batman might be on hold.
Next up for Michael Keaton is Tim Burton’s upcoming fantasy horror comedy flick, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe are among the other actors who star in the Beetlejuice (1988) sequel.
Max offers streaming for Keaton’s Batman & Batman Returns.
