There was widespread confusion when DC Films president Walter Hamada confirmed last year that his plans were to move forward on two separate Batman franchises that existed independently of each other. While that’s easy enough to understand when Robert Pattinson’s reboot arrives next March, folks were caught off guard by the revelation that Michael Keaton would be the other Caped Crusader and not Ben Affleck.
Fans jumped for joy when it was announced that Tim Burton’s Dark Knight was suiting up for the first time in 30 years to play a substantial supporting role in Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, and Hamada touting him as the top dog moving forward had the internet salivating at the prospect of the Batman Beyond adaptation they’ve been waiting on for decades.
No offense to Keaton, but the dude turned 70 years old earlier this month, so he wasn’t going to be getting strapped into a harness and tossed off of buildings in a new string of blockbuster Batman adventures. Instead, Geekosity posits that once The Flash is over, the veteran actor won’t be throwing on the costume ever again.
Instead, he’ll slip back into the mentor/father figure vacancy, which will reportedly lead directly to Batman Beyond. Of course, none of this is anywhere close to being made official as of yet, but looking at what we know and what we’ve heard so far, there’s an air of inevitability to Keaton’s Bruce Wayne handing the spotlight over to Terry McGinnis.