Despite portraying Batman and the Vulture on screen, and even delving into the psychology of superhero filmmaking in Birdman, actor Michael Keaton admits that the sheer popularity of superhero movies has always surprised him.
"After the first Batman, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an entire [comic book] movie,” Keaton said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "I just never got around to it. So you're talking to a guy who wasn’t in the zeitgeist of that whole world. When I went down to do the Marvel things in Atlanta… It's an entire city dedicated to Marvel… They'll be doing Marvel movies forever. I'll be dead, and they'll still be doing Marvel movies."
Despite not being attuned to the comic movie phenomenon, Keaton said that the script for DC's upcoming Flash movie impressed him. The 69-year-old actor will reprise the role of Bruce Wayne in the film, 30 years after 1992's Batman Returns.
"Frankly, in the back of my head, I always thought, 'I bet I could go back and nail that motherfucker,'" Keaton said, reflecting on how he had quit the role after not liking the script for 1995's Batman Forever. "And so I thought, 'Well, now that they’re asking me, let me see if I can pull that off.'"
The multiverse shenanigans of The Flash still confused Keaton, and the actor said the filmmakers "had to explain that to me several times." The movie features multiple versions of the Dark Knight as the Flash travels through parallel worlds, and both Keaton and Ben Affleck -- who portrays the more modern DCEU Batman -- will make appearances. Once he got past this initial hurdle, however, Keaton said that returning to the Batsuit was surprisingly natural, and added that he appreciated and understood the role more with the passing of time.
"What’s really interesting is how much more I got [Batman] when I went back and did him," Keaton said. "I get this on a whole other level now. I totally respect it... It was not a silly thing when I did Batman. But it has become a giant thing, culturally. It’s iconic. So I have even more respect for it because what do I know?"
Directed by Andy Muschetti, The Flash arrives in theaters Nov. 4, 2022.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter