A new short titled The Oath: A Batman Fan Film continues the story of Michael Keaton's Caped Crusader by drawing on classic iconography from Tim Burton's 1989 original feature.

Written and directed by Johnny K., the short film stars Chris Konke, Jerry W. Morgan, Oz Keenum, Michael Stumbo and Guillermo Mejia as Batman. It follows two Gotham City police officers, Officer Joseph Barnes (Konke) and Sgt. Frank Kelly (Morgan), as they investigate a murder that brings Kelly face-to-face with the Dark Knight. Kelly's run-in with Batman during a shady, back-alley deal and the generosity of an unseen Bruce Wayne lead the officer to turn over a new leaf by the end of the film. The 17-minute short is available to watch in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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Produced by Kaotica Studios, the short features several callbacks to Tim Burton's classic 1989 blockbuster, including the rigid turn Keaton's Dark Knight makes in order to turn his head in his restrictive costume, close-ups of Batman brandishing a tool from his utility belt, such as a Batarang or grappling gun, and a reference to Harvey Dent's election as Gotham City's district attorney. Kelly also delivers the line, "There ain't no Bat," in the vein of one of the petty crooks from the opening scene of Keaton's first film.

In addition, director Johnny K. tells CBR that the film covers the seventh sighting of Batman in the Burtonverse. In Burton's 1989 film, Robert Wuhl's Alexander Knox mentions that there have been eight sightings of the Dark Knight, meaning that The Oath takes place sometime before Keaton's rooftop scene from the opening of the 1989 feature. "Batman would have very much been a mystery in those days," the director said. "Just another freak." Other Easter eggs include references to Batman production designer Anton Furst, cinematographer Roger Pratt and Batman co-creator Bill Finger, whose surnames are used as street designations, and the return of a magazine with Jerry Hall's Alicia on the cover that originally served as a footstool to Jack Nicholson's Jack Napier.

The Oath also features a number of significant and deeply personal Easter eggs from the lives of the cast and crew. Near the end of the film, a photo is seen on Sgt. Kelly's desk of him and his wife that is actually a photo of actor Jerry Morgan and his wife on their wedding day. This final scene reveals that Kelly is struggling with the financial strain of his wife's chemotherapy, which causes him to accept a bribe from the central antagonist, Oz Keenum's James "Jimmy" Atlas, earlier in the film.

Kelly's financial troubles are eventually eased by an unseen Bruce Wayne who contributes a donation through the Wayne Foundation to help with his wife's treatment. According to director Johnny K., the chemotherapy bills seen on Kelly's desk in these final moments are actually his own. "I happen to be a cancer survivor, and the chemo bills we used in the last scene were my actual chemo bills from back in the day," the director said. "So there's a big chunk of my life in this little vid, and I hope it will be around for a while!" Johnny has been cancer-free since 1997.

Keaton's Batman Will Return to the Big Screen

Keaton is set to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in DC Studios' upcoming The Flash movie from director Andy Muschietti. The actor was originally scheduled to return in HBO Max's Batgirl before Warner Bros. Discovery abruptly canceled the film in August. Though fans will have to wait a little longer to see the Oscar-nominee back in the cape and cowl, The Flash's test screenings indicate it will be worth the delay. In August, the Hollywood Reporter revealed that the film "has been receiving some of the highest scores at test screenings since Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight movies."

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However, it is unknown how Keaton's iteration of Batman will fit into the DC Universe beyond the release of The Flash, if at all. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav recently discussed the streamlining of the DCU under DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, saying, "There's not going to be four Batmans." Ben Affleck, who is also returning as Batman in The Flash, will step away from the character indefinitely after his cameo in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The cameo was originally meant for Keaton before a shift in the movie's release date prompted the swap between him and Affleck.

Recent reports of a potential wholesale reboot of the DCU, beginning with the cancelation of Wonder Woman 3, also put Keaton's future status as the Dark Knight in doubt, in addition to Henry Cavill's Man of Steel 2 and Jason Momoa's Aquaman. Cavill and Momoa are said to have shot cameos for The Flash, but Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios are considering pulling at least Cavill's from the final cut.

Audiences can see Michael Keaton as Batman again after more than three decades when The Flash hits theaters on June 16, 2023. In the meantime, fans can catch up with his version of the character in The Oath: A Batman Fan Film.

Source: YouTube