Ben Affleck And Michael Keaton Both Returning As Batman In Flash Movie

Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton will both return as Batman in The Flash movie. 

Keaton last donned the cowl in 1992’s Batman Returns, while Affleck portrayed the caped crusader in a number of DCEU entries: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League.

Affleck was already set to re-appear as Batman in Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League. However, particularly with Matt Reeves’ upcoming take on Gotham’s hero, many believed his time in the role was over. Fortunately, he’s set for a ‘pivotal role’ in It director Andy Muschietti’s big-screen Flash movie.

The Flash is set for release in summer 2022, and will follow Ezra Miller’s speedster as he crashes through multiple dimensions in an adaptation of DC’s 2011 Flashpoint series of comicbook crossovers. During the course of the movie, he’ll meet both Affleck and Keaton’s Bruce Waynes.

Praising Affleck’s Batman, Muschietti told Vanity Fair:

His Batman has a dichotomy that is very strong, which is his masculinity – because of the way he looks, and the imposing figure that he has, and his jawline – but he’s also very vulnerable. He knows how to deliver from the inside out, that vulnerability. He just needs a story that allows him to bring that contrast, that balance.

Muschietti added: ‘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.’

Affleck’s Batman will be the ‘baseline’ for Miller’s titular hero. ‘He’s part of that unaltered state before we jump into Barry’s adventure. There’s a familiarity there,’ the director added. Keaton, while unfamiliar to Miller, will have a ‘substantial part’ in the film.

He explained: 

This movie is a bit of a hinge in the sense that it presents a story that implies a unified universe where all the cinematic iterations that we’ve seen before are valid. It’s inclusive in the sense that it is saying all that you’ve seen exists, and everything that you will see exists, in the same unified multiverse.

Taking on the mantle of Batman had an immense personal toll for Affleck, which saw him leave his own standalone project. However, Barbara Muschietti – sister of the director, longtime collaborator and producer on The Flash – said he’s ‘now in a very different time in his life’.

She explained: ‘We are all human and go through great times in our lives and terrible times in our lives. Right now he’s in a place where he can actually enjoy being Batman. It’s a pivotal role, but at the same time it’s a fun part.’

The Flash will hit cinemas in summer 2022.

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