Batman actor Michael Keaton finally comments on WB canceling the Batgirl movie. Fans will never get to (legally) see Batgirl after Warner Bros. Discovery+ decided to permanently shelve the highly-anticipated movie. It also means they’ll never get to see Keaton’s return performance as Bruce Wayne.
Keaton of course first played Batman back in Tim Burton’s 1989 big-screen franchise-launcher, donning the cowl again for the sequel Batman Returns. But other actors took over for Keaton in subsequent Batman movies, and Keaton himself seemed to have moved on from superhero films forever. Indeed, Keaton even went so far as to offer a sort of cinematic eulogy for his time as Batman with his Oscar-nominated performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman. But the lure of Batman proved too strong for Keaton, who later signed on for appearances in both Batgirl and The Flash.
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Keaton’s appearance in The Flash is still going to make it to screens as far as anyone knows (though The Flash is having its own notable pre-release publicity problems). Batgirl however has been shelved forever as WB decided to write the film off as a loss for tax purposes. For his part, Keaton had kept silent about the decision to cancel Batgirl, until finally breaking his silence backstage at last night’s Emmys, where he won an award for his role in Dopesick. Keaton said (per Variety), “I think it was a business decision. I’m going to assume it was a good one.” He added, “I really don’t know.”
Keaton’s brief and rather bland remarks come after much stronger reactions from others involved in the Batgirl film. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah naturally were very upset, saying in a statement that they were “shocked and saddened” by the cancelation while thanking Keaton and the rest of the film’s cast for their hard work. Keaton for his part returned the appreciation by gifting El Arbi and Fallah a signed copy of the official Batman Returns book with the inscription “Had fun!” Meanwhile, Batgirl star Leslie Grace made her own upbeat statement, saying “I feel blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process!”
It’s of course no surprise for Keaton to keep his remarks about Batgirl short and sweet. He is after all a professional working actor with other jobs in his sights, and there’s no good reason for him to get involved in any kind of controversy. Fans may have wished for Keaton to come out more strongly in favor of Batgirl, but it’s clear the movie’s cancelation barely represents a speed bump for him along the long road of his career. And Keaton of course is still coming back for The Flash, so fans will still get to see him don the cowl again (unless something disastrous happens with that movie too).