The Flash Movie Returns to Michael Keaton’s Wayne Manor

The new teaser footage for the film adaptation of The Flash gave fans their first look at Michael Keaton’s Batcave in three decades, introducing some iconic imagery and clearly evoking the design aesthetic of 1989’s Batman from director Tim Burton. A number of rooms and images popped up in the trailer, from a look at one of Bruce Wayne’s discarded cowls to shots of the interior of the Batcave. There’s also a look at a recognizable stairwell that evokes numerous takes on the Dark Knight, from Burton’s to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins to the one used by an aging Bruce Wayne in The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” storyline.  That same event featured a brief appearance by Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox, the part he played in Burton’s Batman.

One shot of Batman in the teaser, taken from behind, shows him standing on the catwalk in the Batcave. With a waterfall and glowing bat-computers in the background, the metal railings are virtually identical to the ones used in Batman. 

Back in April, DC fans learned that The Flash was filming at the same English manor that served as Wayne Manor in Batman’s exterior shots. In 1989’s Batman and its sequel, Batman Returns, Wayne Manor was portrayed by Knebworth House, a Gothic Tudor mansion north of London was used for the exterior. The interior was Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

You can see some of those shots below.

The discarded cown and Batman suit seen in the photo above is one of the biggest clues that this might be the same Wayne Manor, since it features the checkered, stone tiles seen in the “armory scene” at Bruce Wayne’s party near the beginning of the film, where Keaton bounced off Wuhl and Kim Basinger.

The trailer ends with The Flash (Ezra Miller) pulling a dropcloth off of the Batmobile, but that’s far from the only part of this Wayne Manor that looks like it’s in disrepair, disuse, or waiting for somebody to come along and do some cleaning. Ironically, there was a version of the Burton Batmobile covered by a dropcloth in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, although in that case the cloth was never moved, since it wasn’t the real car, just a fun Easter egg that they decided to throw in for fans of the movies to spot in the background.

The Flash is currently set for release on November 4, 2022.