Some HUGE news folks. THR is reporting that Michael Keaton, the original big screen Caped Crusader (well, second if you count the late, great Adam West) is in talks to once again play Batman in the long-gestating feature version of THE FLASH. Ezra Miller is still attached to the title role, with Andy Muschietti directing.
Now obviously this is pretty big news, but what's even bigger is that apparently this is no one-shot deal either. The article reports that his Batman may become a recurring presence in the Nick Fury mode, while Umberto Gonzalez over at The Wrap is reporting his role could be used to introduce audiences to the multi-verse, which would make a lot of sense given we already have two Joker's in two different timelines, and are set to have at least two Batman's. Pretty significant news, but bear in mind, nothing has been confirmed by Warner Bros…yet.
I don't know about the rest of you, but to me this is news that's almost too good to be true. I grew up with Keaton's Batman, and to see him back in that role would be too good to be true. It would be like Sean Connery coming back as Bond (which – I know – he did back in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN). I also like the idea of a multi-verse, which is a great way to leave the door open for folks like Ben Affleck to come back to the role at some point. Heck, maybe even Christian Bale. Why not? At the very least, it would be a good way to distinguish the DCEU films from the MCU.