Michael Keaton's Batman Returns in New Batgirl Set Photos

By Cameron Bonomolo

Batman returns! Photos from the set of DC's Batgirl show Michael Keaton back in black as the Dark Knight of the Burtonverse, back in action — this time in the DC Extended Universe — after a run-in with Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) in The Flash. In the HBO Max Original movie starring Leslie Grace as the titular caped crusader, the 70-year-old Keaton suits up to mentor Barbara Gordon's Batgirl, the costumed alter ego of GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon's (Justice League's J.K. Simmons) daughter. Answering the Bat-signal for the first time since 1992's Batman Returns, Keaton returns in The Flash (in theaters Nov. 4) and Batgirl (streaming later this year on HBO Max).

Below, see the first photos of a costumed Keaton on the set of Batgirl (via @BatgirlFilm on Twitter). 

@BatgirlFilm previously shared photos from Batgirl's Gotham City — the dressed-up set in Glasgow, Scotland — revealing a mural featuring the likeness of Keaton's Batman. Keaton's role in Batgirl was confirmed in a December preview of the 2022 Warner Bros. slate.

"[I asked myself], 'What would that be like?' or 'What if I had to do that again?'" Keaton recently told Variety of his decision to answer the Bat signal for the first time in 30 years. "Just because I was curious didn't mean I wanted to do it. So, it took a long time, frankly… I'm not just gonna say I'll do it. It has to be good, and there has to be a reason."

After playing the Dark Knight in 1989's Batman and the 1992 sequel reuniting him with director Tim Burton, Keaton turned down donning the cape and cowl a third time in 1995's Burton-less Batman Forever. On convincing Keaton to return from across the Multiverse in The Flash, director Andy Muschietti revealed at DC FanDome China: "We sent him a great script." 

"It's more complex than this...we gave him a great script and I promised him great direction," Muschietti said. "And that was about it."

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life, Marvel's upcoming Ms. Marvel) direct Batgirl. In October, the directing duo teased "the real Batman" will mentor the superheroine in their first foray into the DCEU. 

The previously announced cast of Batgirl includes Brendan Fraser (DC's Doom Patrol) as the pyromaniac Firefly and Ivory Aquino (When We Rise) as Babs' best friend Alysia Yeoh. Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys for Life), Rebecca Front (Lewis), Corey Johnson (Morbius), and Ethan Kai (Killing Eve) have been cast in undisclosed roles. 

Batgirl premieres later in 2022 on HBO Max. Keaton's Batman returns first in The Flash, playing only in theaters on November 4. 

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