Keaton eyes Batman return

The Batman might be back! Michael Keaton is in talks to reprise his role as the Caped Crusader opposite Ezra Miller in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Flash movie.

The news was first reported by The Wrap.

According to the Hollywood trade, talks are in the early stages but the film’s plot will introduce a “multiverse” concept that has played out in various DC comic books and TV storylines.

“Originally created to explain various contradictory changes the company’s characters experienced over decades, it allows several different versions of the same characters to simultaneously exist and, occasionally, interact,” The Wrap states.

Keaton originally played Batman/Bruce Wayne twice under director Tim Burton’s guidance. He exited the franchise after 1992’s Batman Returns ahead of Batman Foreverwith

Val Kilmer stepping into the title role in 1995.

Miller’s Flash movie will adapt the Flashpoint comic book storyline, which saw the heroic speedster travelling back in time to stop the death of his mother. During his travels, Miller’s Barry Allen encounters different timelines, including the one Keaton’s Batman appeared in. The seeds for a multiverse on film have already been planted with Miller making a cameo as Flash earlier this year on the CW’s massive Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The move will not impact Matt Reeves’ The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, but does open up possibilities for other DC films and storylines to interact, including Jason Momoa’s turn as Aquaman.

After a long search for a director, The Flash will be helmed by It director Andy Muschietti from a script by Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson.

The Flash hits theatres June 2, 2022.