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A lot of people are excited to hear that Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton will be playing Batman in the upcoming Flash movie, but fans were upset when word had come out that Keaton will be playing the main Batman of the DCEU and not Affleck. The question is, how accurate is this news?
It all started when WB head Walter Hamada had talked to The New York Times and confirmed that there will be two Batmen moving forward. The quote goes:
“Coming up, for instance, Warner Bros. will have two different film sagas involving Batman — played by two different actors — running at the same time.”
Automatically we would assume that Affleck would be the other Batman, but when asked on Twitter on which other actor would be Batman, NY Times writer Brooks Barnes had commented that it would be Keaton. Here’s the post:
Keaton
— Brooks Barnes (@brooksbarnesNYT) January 2, 2021
While some are already expressing their disappointment in the decision, one has to ask, “Is this really the decision that WB is making?”
Let’s consider ramifications of having Keaton replace Affleck. Besides breaking continuity, Keaton is already 69-years-old. Why would he suddenly want to be attached to a mainstream action franchise again at his age and status? If anything, these franchise need young and capable actors to be their leads, and I personally wouldn’t want to watch Keaton kill himself just trying to build a body to play Batman some more.
Plus, with the momentum of Zack Snyder’s Justice League as well as #ReleaseTheAyerCut and #RestoretheSnyderVerse, there is a lot of support for the return of Affleck. Is there even anyone below the age of the 35 asking for Keaton to be the main DCEU Batman?
My guess is this is some kind of miscommunication with Barnes and Hamada. It just doesn’t make sense for Keaton to be the new DCEU Batman—either storywise or in terms of practicality. Then again, if WB is indeed pushing forward with Keaton, I’m willing to wait and see what happens.
Catch Keaton when The Flash hits theaters in Nov. 4, 2022. Affleck returns as Batman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League which hits HBO Max this March.
