Recently reports dropped online about the upcoming standalone The Flash film from Warner Bros. The latest tease states that Michael Keaton is in talks to reprise his iconic role as Batman in the long-in-development DCEU film. This could mean the movie would bring Tim Burton's Batman franchise into the DCEU.

There have been plans for a DCEU The Flash film for years, dating back to the character's first appearance in Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, numerous issues with directors have continuously pushed the film back until It director Andy Muschietti recently signed on to helm the movie.

The Flash has been rumored to adapt the 2011 Flashpoint event, which rebooted the DC comic universe, for almost as long as it's been in development. Flashpoint, by Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Alex Sinclair and Nick J. Napolitano introduced an alternate timeline filled with wild takes on DC's most popular characters that were created when Barry Allen/Flash went back in time to stop his mother's murder.

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Barry's actions resulted in a world without Superman, a broken Thomas Wayne who became Batman after the murder of his son and a world-threatening war between Wonder Woman's Amazons and Aquaman's Atlanteans. This would undoubtedly make for an entertainingly action-packed film. Barry was eventually able to travel back in time and stop the Flashpoint timeline from happening, and the event gave fans a chance to explore these characters in fun new ways, while also giving DC Comics the opportunity to reboot the timeline into the New 52 universe.

As DC's cinematic shared universe hasn't quite developed as it was originally planned and has long been rumored to be heading towards a possible reboot, the reality-altering Flashpoint event may provide a great opportunity to take the DCEU in a new direction. Michael Keaton's Batman could play a unique role in this new direction.

Keaton first played Bruce Wayne/Batman in 1989 in Tim Burton's Batman, which featured the Dark Knight detective in a feature-length film for the first time. The success of Batman would spawn an entire franchise, but Burton and Keaton only returned for the 1992 follow-up Batman Returns.

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Although both were on board for a potential third film that was in development, those plans were scrapped, and Burton moved on to an attempt to bring a Nicolas Cage-led Superman movie to the big screen before that too fell apart. The closest Keaton has come to reprising his role as Batman since was in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, where he played an actor with a similar superhero resume looking for a comeback.

Considering the very different film continuities the two characters exist in, the question of how Michael Keaton could appear as Batman in the upcoming The Flash film remains. However, as fans have recently seen on The CW's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event, which saw series like ArrowThe Flash and Supergirl crossover with one another, there is a way for the DCEU's Flash and Tim Burton's Batman to meet. "Crisis on Infinite Earths" confirmed the idea of an extended DC Multiverse that reached beyond The CW's core DC TV series and included actors reprising fan-favorite roles from series like Smallville and the classic Batman TV series while also further exploring the established Arrowverse characters.

The crossover also touched on two other very important DC properties. First, the final episode in the five-episode event featured an unexpected meeting between the Arrowverse's Flash, played by Grant Gustin, and the DCEU's Flash, played by Ezra Miller. This seemingly chance meeting has potentially opened the doors for an exploration of a larger DCEU multiverse in the upcoming The Flash film. Second, Robert Wuhl reprised his role as Gotham City reporter Alexander Knox from Burton's Batman, establishing a connection between the Arrowverse and the '89 film.

RELATED: RUMOR: Flashpoint Film May Debut a Long-Anticipated Multiverse Batman

The appearance of the DCEU's Flash and a character from Tim Burton's franchise in the Arrowverse coupled with the rumor that Michael Keaton may be reprising his out-of-continuity role as Batman is further evidence that Andy Muschietti's The Flash could be setting up a larger DCEU Multiverse that could potentially impact further films. And while TV adaptations from both Marvel and DC have struggled to find recognition of their existence on the big screen, The Flash could conceivably bring Tim Burton's Batman reality into the big-screen DCEU multiverse while also maintaining its ties to the already-established Arrowverse.

If Michael Keaton reprises his role from Tim Burton's Batman in The Flash, Warner Bros. will achieve something Marvel Studios never quite accomplished: establishing that, in the DCEU multiverse, it truly is all connected.

KEEP READING: Michael Keaton's Potential Batman Return Will Involve Multiple DCEU Films