Oscar nominated and Golden Globe & Critics Choice award winning actor Michael Keaton is securing a multi-picture deal to reprise his role of Bruce Wayne / Batman in future Warner Bros D.C. properties. The first of which would be It filmmaker Andy Muschietti’s The Flash (2022).

Muschietti has Ezra Miller returning to the role of Barry Allen / The Flash, with plans for his speeding superhero to travel through time and different dimensions in a reset/expansion of the DCU as we know it.

Keaton played the iconic DC hero in 1989’s Batman opposite Jack Nicholson and 1992’s Batman Returns opposite Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer. Both films were critical and commercial successes, with Keaton winning over fans who primarily knew him as a comedic actor.

Awards Focus founder Byron Burton profiled the history of both Batman and Batman Returns for The Hollywood Reporter.

Keaton generously participated in Awards Focus’ Aiding Australia charity event this past February.  Keaton attended with his songwriting son, Sean Douglas, daughter-in-law and grandson. He signed several Batman and Beetlejuice items for charity benefit, hosted by John Ottman, Byron Burton, and guest of honor Colin Hay from Men at Work.

Michael Keaton at the Aiding Australia Benefit. (Photo by: David Yeh)
Michael Keaton at the Aiding Australia Benefit. (Photo by: David Yeh)
Batman movie poster signed by Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton signs ‘Batman’ movie poster at the Aiding Australia event. (Photo: David Yeh)

Following the success of Beetlejuice, Keaton’s two Batman films with director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman rebranded The Dark Knight for modern audiences. Their influence would go on to permeate Warner Bros. animation with Batman: The Animated Series. The gothic influence of Burton’s films were a trademark of the series as well as Elfman’s iconic theme.

Keaton’s new role is described as a mentor across multiple projects. It’s unclear if Keaton will be suiting up for battle or if any of the living characters — Robert Wuhl’s Alexander Knox, Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale, or Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle — will return.

The Flash is set to shoot in 2021 in London, where production is currently paused on the Robert Pattinson starring film, The Batman.

About The Author

Founder, Awards Editor

Byron Burton is the Awards Editor and Chief Critic at Awards Focus and a National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award winning journalist for his work at The Hollywood Reporter.

Byron is a voting member of the Television Academy, Critics Choice Association, and the Society of Composers & Lyricists (the SCL) for his work on Marvel's X-Men Apocalypse (2016). Working as a journalist and moderator, Byron hosts Emmy and Oscar panels for the major studios, featuring their Below The Line and Above The Line nominees (in partnership with their respective guilds).

Moderating highlights include Ingle Dodd's "Behind the Slate" Screening Series and their "Spotlight Live" event at the American Legion in Hollywood. Byron covered the six person panel for Universal's "NOPE" as well as panels for Hulu's "Pam & Tommy Lee" and "Welcome to Chippendales" and HBO Max's "Barry" and "Euphoria."

For songwriters and composers, Byron is a frequent moderator for panels with the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) as well as The ArcLight's Hitting the High Note Oscar series.

Byron's panels range from FX's Fargo to Netflix's The Crown, The Queen's Gambit, The Witcher & Bridgerton; HBO Max's The Flight Attendant, Hacks, Succession, Insecure, & Lovecraft Country; Amazon Studios' The Legend of Vox Machina, Wild Cat, & Annette; and Apple TV+s Ted Lasso, Bad Sisters, and 5 Days at Memorial.

In February of 2020, Byron organized and hosted the Aiding Australia Initiative; launched to assist in the restoration and rehabilitation of Australia's wildlife (an estimated 3 billion animals killed or maimed and a landmass the size of Syria decimated).

Participating talent for Aiding Australia includes Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, Jeremy Renner, Harrison Ford, Jim Carrey, Josh Brolin, Bryan Cranston, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, JK Simmons, Tobey Maguire, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Danny Elfman, Tim Burton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Tim Allen, Colin Hay, Drew Struzan, and Michael Rosenbaum.

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