Michael Keaton aka Batman thinks he could whoop Arnold… DeVito, not so much

Last Updated on March 19, 2024

You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts! Michael Keaton is revealing a little bit more about his quasi-return as Batman at the 96th Academy Awards, saying he could kick some Gotham butt if he’s forced to. He can also still rock an ascot, which he said he wore to “Bruce Wayne it up a little bit”, something many fans were keen to notice.

While we will never actually see Michael Keaton’s Batman square off against Danny DeVito’s Penguin again or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze even once (that job went to George Clooney), he does think he would come out on top. “Danny is the one I’d worry about ’cause he’s sneaky. He’d creep up behind you, and he has the height advantage because he’s so [small]. You don’t know where he is. He’s always sneaking around.” Even still, Keaton did discard The Penguin in 1992’s Batman Returns, so the track record does lean in his favor. As for Arnold’s Mr. Freeze? “The other guy I would just put away. He’s too slow.” Not cool, Michael! Keaton doubled down on his verbal takedown of Arnold, saying, “You know what? You’ll be back when I tell you to come back”, a nod to Arnold’s iconic line in The Terminator.

That immediately iconic Oscars moment that found DeVito and Schwarzenegger staring down Keaton in the audience – of course channeling their Batman history – was one of the highlights of the night, even more so because we just assumed we were getting another cast reunion (here, Twins), as we did earlier when Beetlejuice’s Keaton and Catherine O’Hara presented two Oscars. We – and the cast – are still talking about it, with DeVito even saying he would reprise The Penguin provided Tim Burton would direct. Unfortunately, that is yet another movie that will never come to fruition…

2024 marks the 35th anniversary of Tim Burton’s Batman, which would be the highest-grossing film of 1989. 1992’s follow-up, Batman Returns, would also take the box office crown, while 1997’s Batman & Robin would just land on the tail end of the top 10.

Who is your favorite Tim Burton or Joel Schumacher Batman villain? Could a 72-year-old Michael Keaton still handle them?