Following the recent whirlwind of major announcements surrounding the future of the DCEU, we could soon end up with more Batmen than we know what to do with.
Not only is Michael Keaton returning to play the Caped Crusader for the first time in nearly 30 years in The Flash as Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson gear up to resume production on The Batman, but Ben Affleck looks to be back in superhero shape as rumors continue to swirl that he’s set to stick around for much more than just the Snyder Cut of Justice League.
If that wasn’t enough bat for your buck, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is still being linked to turn his Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice cameo into a full-blown appearance as the Flashpoint version of Thomas Wayne in the Scarlet Speedster’s solo movie, while Keaton’s return is widely expected to lead towards the long-awaited live-action Batman Beyond, which will see Terry McGinnis suit up as the Dark Knight.
Five different actors playing different versions of Batman in the same franchise could easily cause mass confusion, but luckily the multiverse is on the way to establish different realities and timelines within the DCEU’s framework, and we’ve now heard that two of them could be crossing over in The Flash.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us a Justice League Dark show is coming to HBO Max and Diana will have her Golden Eagle armor in Wonder Woman 1984 – Warner Bros. are talking to Ben Affleck about a cameo in The Flash included as part of his renegotiated contract, which will see him meet Keaton’s Bruce Wayne in the previously-established timeline that Batman V Superman and Justice League took place in.
Not only will this make it clear that Keaton will be free to move around the franchise as he sees fit in his reported Nick Fury-like role, but it also allows Affleck to head off to HBO Max to develop Batman projects of his own as has previously been mooted. With The Batman taking place outside of the main timeline, the studio apparently see it as a passing of the torch moment between the two actors that will establish Keaton as the big screen’s number one Bruce Wayne for the foreseeable future.
