“Big, Fun, Nice Check”: Michael Keaton Responds To Whether Batgirl Movie Cancellation Disappointed Him

August 19, 2024 admin

Summary

Michael Keaton’s return as Batman in future DC movies was cut short by Batgirl’s cancellation.
The cancellation of Batgirl marked the start of a negative trend for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Keaton’s Batman was meant to play a mentor role in the DCEU.

Michael Keaton opens up about the Batgirl movie being canceled. Keaton first played the Dark Knight in two Batman movies under director Tim Burton. 31 years after last appearing as Bruce Wayne, the actor returned as his version of Batman in 2023’s The Flash. That was meant to be the start of a new stint of DC roles for the actor, with Keaton’s Batman planned to appear in future DC movies. However, with Batgirl’s cancellation and the end of the DCEU, Keaton’s Batman return was cut short.

Speaking to GQ, Michael Keaton said he was not affected by Batgirl being scrapped by Warner Bros. Discovery. According to the star, he got a “nice check” for his work on the movie, with Keaton not caring about Batgirl‘s cancellation. However, the Batman actor did feel bad for the movie’s directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who deserved to see Batgirl included on the DCEU’s list of movies but did not get that. Check out the full quote below:

“No, I didn’t care one way or another. Big, fun, nice check.

I like those boys. They’re nice guys (
Batgirl
directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah). I pull for them. I want them to succeed, and I think they felt very badly, and that made me feel bad. Me? I’m good.”

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Batgirl’s Cancellation Started A Negative WB Trend

Batgirl being scrapped stands as one of the most controversial moves in the cinematic landscape in recent years. The movie was deemed unreleasable, which led to Warner Bros. Discovery making Batgirl a tax write-off. That was the start of the company’s wave of tax write-offs, with many finished projects never seeing the light of day. Being the first to go and a major comic book property, Batgirl‘s cancellation was shocking, especially since Keaton was set to come back as Batman in the DC film.

michael keaton as batman and leslie grace as batgirl

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Like everyone else, the iconic Batman actor had already shot all of his scenes for Batgirl. Keaton’s Batman would have played a supporting role in the movie. That was meant to build off his appearance in 2023’s The Flash, with DC planning to make Keaton the Batman of the DCEU — replacing Ben Affleck — and serving as a mentor to the new generation of heroes. For that to happen, Keaton’s Batman would have appeared in The Flash‘s post-credits scene instead of George Clooney’s Bruce Wayne, which was later changed.

It would have been exciting to see how Keaton’s Batman would take to this mentor role in a world filled with younger heroes. Sadly, Batgirl‘s status as a tax write-off means the movie should never see the light of day, with Keaton’s possibly final performance as Bruce Wayne lost forever. Warner Bros. Discovery has other plans for Batman, with Robert Pattinson playing the character in The Batman – Part II and beyond, and Bruce Wayne being rebooted for James Gunn’s DC Universe. Perhaps a new Batgirl will rise in one or both of the franchises.