For many, Christian Bale or Ben Affleck is the premiere Batman. But it was Michael Keaton and Tim Burton who brought about a new way to look at the character first. 1989’s Batman was gritty and dark, a sharp contrast from the goofy Adam West version.
It was the biggest hit of the year. So when it came to doing the sequel, Batman Returns, it might have seemed like a no-brainer decision for Keaton. But it wasn’t that easy for the actor, who had never played the same character twice before.
Michael Keaton Found It Strange To Film The Sequel To His Hit Film Batman
1989’s Batman, as well as 1992’s Batman Returns, were both big hits. But back then, the latter film wasn’t as widely loved as the first one. Many were of the opinion that Tim Burton pushed the darker tone from the first film way too much into the next one. But that wasn’t the reason why Michael Keaton found the film strange.
In the Shadows of the Bat featurette, Keaton said that it was because he had trouble getting into the skin of Bruce Wayne and Batman again. He said:
“The only challenge I thought of before I started it was the mere fact that I had never done a character twice. So I was interested in doing it. What I hadn’t anticipated was, in my second or third day, I realized something seemed a little off. And what I think I was doing was imitating myself.”
The actor admitted that his fallacy was not looking at and exploring the character from other angles. He was stuck thinking that he knew everything already. Michael Keaton further explained:
“You’re playing the same character. So I had to keep thinking, ‘I’ve played this character. So what does he do here?’ And I excluded any other possibilities… So I found myself doing an impersonation of myself, which was first of all impossible. And second of all, really strange.”
So what did Keaton do in the end? He dropped the impersonation and took on the character as if he was doing a new and first film. He said:
“I just dropped that and said, ‘No, no, no. You’ve got to just open up like it’s the first time and trust that the character will be there.'”
Many thought that it was the last time we would see Michael Keaton pull on the cowl again. But luckily that isn’t the case.
Michael Keaton Puts On The Batman Cowl Back For The Flash
Michael Keaton was asked to return for Batman Forever as well. But he passed on the project and so Val Kilmer stepped in to become Gotham’s protector. But the film wasn’t received well at all by anyone and it still holds the mantle of being the biggest flop of the franchise.
Thankfully, Keaton was open to playing the character again and didn’t close the door on that chapter of his life completely. He will be playing his version of Bruce Wayne/ Batman again in The Flash. The Ezra Miller-led film is receiving rave reviews and it’s expected to entertain audiences with multiversal shenanigans. It looks like, for now, this will be Keaton’s last appearance as Batman.
The Flash will premiere on June 16, 2023.
Source: Shadow of the Bat
