It’s been long reported that DC Films’ upcoming “The Flash” is going to dabble heavily in the multiverse, with confirmed appearances from Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, both playing versions of Batman, along with Sasha Calle playing a multiversal version of Supergirl. And it would appear that there may be even more multiverse shenanigans than we realized as there are confirmations of two other DC characters making shocking returns. Oh yeah, and we might have gotten an update about which Batman might be continuing in the future of the DCEU.
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On the Warner Bros. UK site, in an official press release, the cast list for “The Flash” has a couple of interesting additions. It appears that both Michael Shannon and Antje Traue are being listed as part of the cast of the superhero film. This would seemingly point to the return of General Zod to the DCEU after his appearance in “Man of Steel.” And this would also indicate that perhaps this Zod isn’t the same one we saw back in Zack Snyder’s film, as clearly Superman killed him. Is this a Zod from Supergirl’s universe? Perhaps it’s a new Zod from another universe? Or maybe DC is ready to retcon what happened in “Man of Steel” and say that Zod never died in the first place? Regardless of the answer, it’s clear that “The Flash” has more big appearances than we initially thought.
Speaking of big appearances, there’s also an interesting bit of news about Michael Keaton. Apparently, on the same press release, there was also a write-up about “Batgirl,” which is expected to arrive on HBO Max. Fans were speculating how the film would connect to the DCEU, as it’s already been confirmed J.K. Simmons would be returning to play Commissioner Gordon in the film. Does this mean Ben Affleck is coming back one more time after “The Flash?” Well, apparently not, as the cast list for “Batgirl” included Michael Keaton. Now, that’s in the past tense, as the write-up was seemingly pulled from the website and it’s impossible to confirm it now. But leave it to social media folks to screenshot it and circulate it around.
If the Batman who shows up in “Batgirl” is Michael Keaton, that would seemingly suggest that Ben Affleck’s days as the Caped Crusader are definitely coming to an end after “The Flash,” and Keaton’s version of the character could be the Bruce Wayne that continues on in the DCEU. This is all rampant speculation, of course, as we really don’t have any way to confirm this theory. That said, this is the most news we’ve gotten in regards to the future of Batman in the DCEU so far. So, keep an eye out for that.
“The Flash” is expected to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2022. “Batigrl” doesn’t yet have a release date.