George Clooney shocked the DC Universe this summer when he returned to the role of Bruce Wayne, after 25 years, for a cameo appearance in The Flash — and is now confirming that was a one-and-done reprisal.
Going into the film, audiences obviously already knew about Keaton's significant return, as well as that Ben Affleck would still be playing his DCEU version of the Caped Crusader. The bombshell ending of The Flash also features one more surprising appearance of a third Bruce Wayne that stunned audiences everywhere.
Batman and Flash have a strong connection in the DCEU. Though Barry Allen only meets Bruce Wayne in Justice League, the fifth entry in the original DCEU that began with Man of Steel, the Flash's first interaction with Batman happened in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Thanks to Barry's time-travel meddling, Affleck's grizzled Batman appears to have been erased from existence, possibly for good. In his place, we now have Clooney's suave version of the character — one who appears to be familiar with Barry despite Barry's shock to see him.
Old Bruce Wayne vs Barry Allen | THE FLASH [4k, HDR]
Are there 3 Batmans in The Flash?
Ezra Miller plays The Flash's two main characters, the Barry Allen from the present and the one from the past. But The Flash also features four versions of Batman: Ben Affleck's, Michael Keaton's, George Clooney's, and a fleeting cameo by Adam West's.
This led to The Flash's actual ending, with George Clooney appearing as Bruce Wayne in Keaton's place. Clooney was chosen as he clearly will not be returning as Batman in the future, leaving The Flash's ending as a fun gag rather than a tease with Keaton that would never become something more.
Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A wealthy socialite from Gotham City who moonlights as a crimefighting vigilante in an alternative universe. Keaton reprises the role from the films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), though, this time as an alternate version of the character from 2013-Barry's timeline.
Nicolas Cage is opening up about his cameo in The Flash where he was featured donning the costume of Superman. As you may remember, Cage tested as the Man of Steel for what would've been a Tim Burton-directed feature that was ultimately scrapped.
The Flash and Batman are a great duo, and they share a great level of intellect due to Batman's detective skills and The Flash's forensic science background. They share a mutual trauma, and a sense of serious nature when the situation calls to it.
If The Flash takes place in 2023, its events would chronologically occur 31 years after the events of Keaton's last appearance as Batman. This would make Michael Keaton's version of Bruce Wayne around the age of 64 in the new film.
Power Instability: After fusing in the Speed Force with the Flash, Batman now has the speedster's powers, though he's forced to share his body with the Flash's consciousness, which occasionally tries to break free.
In a January 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Affleck revealed that he was ready to move on from Batman following his "nadir experience" filming the 2017 "Justice League" movie. "Not blaming anybody, there's a lot of things that happened. But really what it was is that I wasn't happy.
Later, Arthur goes to Arkham State Hospital and steals his mother's records, and finds out that he was in fact adopted, and that Thomas Wayne is not his father and that Penny is not his true mother.
Long story short: the filmmakers joked about getting Clooney on board, and new DC head honchos Peter Safran and James Gunn loved the idea, so they sent a copy to Clooney, who liked the movie and agreed to be a part of it. They then shot the scene “on a January morning” this year.
With Affleck being 50 at the time of filming his scenes in The Flash, it seems unlikely that any future Batmen in DC's multiverse will ever begin their careers at the same age or with the same Dark Knight Returns vibe as him.
Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz will be reprising their roles as billionaire socialite Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, and Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, in The Batman Part II, it was confirmed at CinemaCon 2022.
It turns out The Flash's actions created another new reality, albeit one where Clooney's Bruce is Batman. Barry seems baffled by the entire situation and forces a smile before his tooth, which he superglued back on earlier in the movie, falls out.
The story for Red Death on The Flash differs from the comics, but also from Ryan Wilder's backstory in the Arrowverse. She's not "Batwoman" but, rather, a woman "Batman." She was adopted by the Waynes in her corner of the DC Multiverse.
It's quite likely that Clooney's appearance is nothing more that a fun, comedic button meant to signal that “The Flash” signifies the beginning of the end of the DC cinematic universe that has existed since 2013's “Man of Steel.” But given the metaphysical rules of the multiverse established earlier in the film, ...
The only reason given for Michael Keaton's Batman retirement in the actual Flash movie was simply that Gotham didn't need him anymore. The traditionally corrupt and crime-filled city had become one of the safest places in the world.
