Remember when we found out that Michael Keaton was going to reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne for Andy Muschietti’s upcoming The Flash movie? Remember how brilliant we thought that was? Remember how it fits perfect with the Flashpoint storyline from the comics, which finds The Flash exploring multiple universes with variations on DC’s biggest heroes?
Well, guess what? DC and Warner Bros weren’t done yet.
Vanity Fair has learned that Ben Affleck will also slip back into the Batsuit for The Flash. Affleck was last seen as Batman in Justice League. His tenure as the Dark Knight was met with a mixed response. But even those who didn’t like Affleck as Batman could agree that his shortcomings probably had to do with crappy scripts and not crappy acting. In fact, most people thought he showed a lot of promise but was just hampered repeatedly by the movies surrounding him. Personally, I think Affleck was quite good as Batman and brought a gruff, grizzled, Springsteen-like essence to the role. Most importantly, I think he understood his character and was really trying to give us something different. It’s a damn shame the movies he starred in were…well, not good!
But he will get another chance to show us what he’s got with The Flash. Muschietti told VF that Affleck will play a pivotal part in the movie:
“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before. It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.””
So now we have Affleck returning as Batman as well as Keaton playing Batman in a different universe. That means that there is a chance — maybe a good chance — that other Batmans (Batmen?) from previous films will return as well. Is George Clooney’s phone ringing?
After years of jumbled and disappointing movies, it seems that Warner Bros is trying something new with the DC Universe. They’re swinging for the fences with The Flash and really thinking outside of the box. That’s the right approach and something that sets The Flash apart from Marvel and other superhero films (with the exception of Into the Spiderverse which handled the concept of multiple parallel universes quite well). Go on, DC, get crazy with it. Hell, give us more Batman in The Flash. We’re on board.