Geeks logo

Ben Affleck And Michael Keaton Set To Reprise Batman Roles In 'The Flash' Film

This is Going To Be Awesome!

By Culture SlatePublished 4 years ago 3 min read
Like

As fast as he is, The Flash has yet to receive his own theatrical film. It has been delayed time and time again over the years, but it is currently set to be released in June 2022. With all of the delays (even before delays were more commonplace thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic), it is understandable that moviegoers may have lost enthusiasm over the project, especially if they were not fans of the Ezra Miller portrayal of Barry Allen in 2017’s Justice League film. However, some news about the film may be enough to sway their curiosity.

Thursday, Vanity Fair reported that Ben Affleck, who portrayed the DCEU interpretation of Batman, is returning for The Flash. According to them, Affleck received the script at the end of last week and agreed this week to join the film. The Flash director Andy Muschietti, who previously directed It and It Chapter Two, explained that Affleck’s Batman is a vital component of the story. As strong as Affleck’s Batman is, he also has a vulnerable side that can be explored.

“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,” the director added. "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.”

It makes sense that Bruce Wayne, who met up with Barry Allen in Justice League to ask him to join the titular team, would have a huge effect on the young hero. Some might even compare it to Tony Stark recruiting Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War. While we saw interactions between Wayne and Allen, Justice League did not really explore what they have in common. It sounds like The Flash may go into how they have the shared experience of having lost their mothers to murderers. While interesting in theory, the effectiveness of the execution has yet to be seen. One can only hope that it is not as cringeworthy as the “Martha” scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Furthermore, there will also be another returning Batman in the form of Michael Keaton, who starred in 1989’s Tim Burton-directed Batman and its sequel Batman Returns. According to Muschietti, Keaton will have a “substantial” part. Since the upcoming film is based on Flashpoint, this allows for characters of different universes to appear, much like how Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen interacted with Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen in a scene from CW’s adaptation of the crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths. The multiverse approach provides lots of opportunities for different worlds to collide. Fans have been wanting Keaton to return as an older Batman in a fashion similar to the animated series Batman Beyond. A similar event happened in the aforementioned CW crossover, in which Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy depicted an older Batman in live-action form, though this interpretation had mixed reception from viewers. Hopefully, Keaton’s portrayal can knock it out of the park as he did in his two Batman films.

Ezra Miller, Andy Muschietti, and Barbara Muschietti (Andy’s sister and producer on the film) are set to appear in the “Introducing Flash” virtual panel at this Saturday’s DC FanDome virtual convention. The panel is scheduled for 11:40 AM PST and is expected to be 10 minutes in length. While that may not be a whole lot of time for more details to be revealed about the upcoming film, it is still a good sign that the wheels are turning as far as The Flash movie is concerned.

Written by Steven Shinder

Syndicated from Culture Slate

superheroes
Like

About the Creator

Culture Slate

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.