There was an equal mix of surprise, shock, and unbridled joy when it was first announced that Michael Keaton would be making the comeback nobody expected after the veteran star agreed to suit up as Batman for the first time in three decades when he boarded The Flash.
Curiosity was piqued to even higher levels when it was additionally confirmed that Tim Burton’s Caped Crusader would also show up in HBO Max exclusive Batgirl, as well as blockbuster sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Obviously, it goes without saying that Keaton’s hotly-hyped return is lying in tatters following recent developments.
Release date shuffles that saw The Flash pushed to next summer led to Ben Affleck being drafted in to reshoot Keaton’s proposed cameo as Bruce Wayne so as not to mess up the timeline, while Batgirl has been canned altogether in a shocking move that came completely out of left field when the movie was in the final stages of post-production.
Needless to say, fans have been lamenting on the state of Keaton’s impending re-debut as the Dark Knight after he was excised from Aquaman 2 and consigned to the scrapheap along with the rest of the Batgirl cast.
Just when you thought Warner Bros. didn’t have any more tricks left up its sleeve in regards to the DCEU, scrapping a superhero film with a budget estimated to be between $70-90 million certainly takes the cake. Those involved with Blue Beetle and Black Canary will definitely be looking nervously over their shoulders for the foreseeable future.