Batgirl Cancelation Hints at “Diminished Role” for Michael Keaton’s Batman

DC’s Batgirl movie has been shelved (read: canceled) leaving a lot of big questions looming over Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Universe franchise. One of the biggest draws for Batgirl was having actor Michael Keaton return as Batman, in what looked to be an ongoing arc within the DC Movie Universe. So naturally, hearing that Batgirl has now been canceled leaves us staring at some pretty clear fallout in the form of Keaton’s Batman getting less of role in the new DC Movie Universe than originally thought. 

Michael Keaton’s Batman is already known to be a pivotal character in the upcoming Flash movie, after Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) inadvertently speeds himself into a changed DC timeline where Keaton’s Batman exists. The Flash continues to be a hot-button film DC/WB is juggling; the off-screen controversies of star Ezra Miler are a massive PR hurdle, but the film’s place in the franchise is reportedly too important to ignore, as The Flash has long been rumored to be a springboard to a DC Movie Universe soft-reboot. 

Batgirl’s original place in the DC Movie release schedule would’ve seen it hit HBO Max after The Flash’s original release date in late 2022. When it was announced that Keaton was going to be in Batgirl and be THE Batman of the first film in a post-Flash rebooted universe, fans started getting excited that Keaton’s future in the franchise could be as large as a future Batman Beyond movie, with him playing the elderly Bruce Wayne who mentors the next Batman. Needless to say, things have taken a turn.  According to THR: 

The death of Batgirl also hints at a diminished role for Keaton going forward. The actor’s Dark Knight, who hadn’t been seen since 1992’s Batman Returns, was being positioned as akin to Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe… In Batgirl, he is said to have been at the center of a splashy action sequence…He is also a key part of The Flash, the upcoming movie starring embattled actor Ezra Miller that is due out in June 2023. 

It’s also said that Keaton filmed something for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which was originally meant to follow Flash and probably establish Keaton as the new Batman of the rebooted universe. Now… None of that seems like it is really ever going to happen, as Aquaman will arrive before Flash, and Keaton is likely being cut from that film and replaced by Ben Affleck’s Batman. 

Currently, fan theory is bending towards the idea that The Flash will indeed end with Barry Allen re-establishing a “fixed” DC timeline, but that Keaton’s Batman will just be a one-off cameo character, for this unique multiversal story. However, rumors also used to say that The Flash was introducing a new Supergirl (Sashe Calle) to join Batgirl’s Leslie Grace as THE official Batman/Superman successors in the new DCMU. Now, all we know is that Batgirl is off the table; Keaton’s role is probably not going to be at all what we thought, and the only real Batman presence we know of is Ben Affleck’s Batman being in both Aquaman 2 and at least the opening of The Flash. That leaves just one big question now looming: 

NEXT: Does Batgirl’s Cancelation Hint at a Bigger Batman Return for Ben Affleck?