After reports surfaced stating that Michael Keaton would return to the DC Universe to play Batman in the “Flash” movie starring Ezra Miller, plenty of fans were quick to speculate what this could mean. The biggest theory was that Keaton would play Thomas Wayne, aka the guy that always dies before Martha loses her pearls in every Batman movie. But it turns out Keaton is in talks to play good old billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Not only that, but reports say he will appear in costume, though it remains to be seen if he can turn his head this time.
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The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, with sources saying Keaton would absolutely not be playing Thomas Wayne, but an older Bruce Wayne, and he would appear fully in costume as Batman. This would most likely mean that the “Flash” movie won’t incorporate the “Flashpoint” storyline that saw Barry Allen accidentally creating an alternate timeline where Bruce Wayne died and his dad became Batman — no matter how often that storyline gets brought up as a solution to every single problem in a DC movie, or every news piece people disagree with.
This news still don’t rule out an adaptation of another popular DC story, however. The original reports said that Keaton’s re-introduction in “Flash” is meant as a starting point for a larger role that would have Batman mentor younger heroes in several DCEU movies, kind of like Nick Fury in the MCU. This could easily translate into Keaton’s Bruce Wayne becoming a sort of mentor, grooming the next generation’s Batman à la “Batman Beyond.”
Regardless of whether or not this news is building up to a “Flashpoint” movie, seeing Keaton return as Bruce Wayne should be cause for celebration. One of DC’s greatest strengths is its idea of a multiverse, with dozens of alternate universes out there to be explored without the need for a linear continuity. Like the TV series already showed us, you can have all the different TV and movie portrayals of the iconic characters live in the same multiverse simultaneously without the need to retcon anything.
Having played such an integral role in DC movie history, seeing Keaton return to play Bruce Wayne opens the doors to a multiverse of possibilities.