The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover is shaping up to be a veritable smörgåsbord of superhero action. Not only does it bring the many heroes of The CW’s Arrowverse together once again to face the Anti-Monitor, but it’s going to feature characters and actors from DC’s long history on the silver and small screens.
We’re getting Burt Ward from Batman ’66, Tom Welling from Smallville and possibly Lynda Carter from Wonder Woman. Brandon Routh is getting back into the cape, too, as Kingdom Come Superman, and longtime voice of Batman Kevin Conroy will finally be playing Bruce Wayne in live-action. But the surprises don’t stop there, as Michael Keaton’s Dark Knight may also appear.
Now, hold your horses for a moment. Currently, we have no confirmation that Keaton is physically going to show up in the crossover, but we’ve just seen a set photo of a newspaper that features him pretty prominently. And for Batman nerds, this is significant for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it confirms that in the wake of 1992’s Batman Returns, Michael Keaton’s Batman did finally work things out with Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle (good for them!). It also confirms that, at least in the eyes of these writers, that the two Tim Burton films are in their own mini-continuity. Batman Forever and Batman and Robin both referenced the Burton pics, but this newspaper means that they cannot be direct sequels to it.
There’s long been a desire amongst Batman fans to see Michael Keaton reprise the role, with many naming him as a perfect older Bruce for a live action Batman Beyond adaptation. It’s unlikely that this newspaper is teasing an actual appearance by the star (he’s probably too big a name to cameo on The CW, if he even did want to do it), but stranger things have happened and the network is clearly going all out here, so who knows?
In any case, we’ll find out soon enough, as “Crisis on Infinite Earths” kicks off on Supergirl on December 8th and runs across The CW’s shows until it concludes on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow on January 14th.