Although Michael Keaton’s Batman casting wreaked unimaginable havoc among probably the entirety of the fandom, his rendition of the Caped Crusader would later go on to shape the very crux of pop culture phenomena. That’s to say, his iteration of Gotham’s savior is perhaps one of the most treasured legacies of DC’s eponymous superhero. But alas, Keaton’s days as Bruce Wayne were numbered.
Creative Differences Pushed Michael Keaton to Exit as Batman
While Michael Keaton donned the Batsuit once again for Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, he’d said goodbye to the character long back after just two live-action projects. Sure, Tim Burton’s Batman was no short of a masterpiece, rightly earning the title of an evergreen cult classic. Even the 1992 sequel to the film, despite landing mixed reviews, became a certified hit. So, what prodded Keaton to step down from such dazzling success when all was going so well? To put it simply, Joel Schumacher’s vision of the Dark Knight.
Schumacher’s Batman Forever was originally slated to have Keaton, 71, as the leading man. But contrary to Burton’s pensive and gritty Bruce Wayne, the late director wanted to depict a much more tamped-down version of the superhero in the 1995 movie. The Beetlejuice star, however, didn’t see eye-to-eye with Schumacher’s vision of Batman.
“I remember one of the things that I walked away going, ‘Oh boy, I can’t do this.’ He asked me, ‘I don’t understand why everything has to be so dark and everything so sad,’ and I went, ‘Wait a minute, do you know how this guy got to be Batman? Have you read… I mean, it’s pretty simple.”
Keaton was of the firm belief that the character’s brutal past and the overall somber tone comprised the very essence of Batman whereas the late Batman & Robin director didn’t agree with that. Needless to say, Schumacher wasn’t going to budge and Keaton, too, was rooted in his ideology. Stuck in a deadlock, the latter then decided to put down the cowl for good.
A Whopping $15 Million Wasn’t Enough to Make Him Stay
Warner Bros., for their part, tried its level best to keep Keaton in the franchise, offering him a fat paycheck of $15 million should he decide to return for Batman Forever. But the Oscar nominee refused to turn back. Not to mention, The Founder star wasn’t the biggest fan of all the publicity stints he was required to comply with either. So, it was a win-win for him, for the most part at least, unless you’re counting the colossal payday he missed out on.
Ultimately, the role in the Schumacher-helmed Batman movie went to Top Gun star Val Kilmer instead who did one film and quit. Then came Ocean’s Eleven star George Clooney who took over the role in the 1997 sequel instead of Kilmer.
As for what convinced Keaton for one last run as Gotham’s Defender, it was mainly his curiosity more than anything else that prodded him to accept the part in The Flash. “It seemed like fun,” he told Variety. “I was curious what it would be like after this many years. Not so much me doing it — obviously, some of that — but I was just curious about it, weirdly, socially.”
The Flash hits theatres on June 16, 2023.
Source: In the Envelope
