Though recent reports have attempted to mitigate hopes that Michael Keaton will return as Batman beyond his appearance in The Flash, a new scoop challenges these claims.
Small Screen’s Edward Lauder says his sources – whom he claims to know personally and trust – tell him that Keaton is in talks to star in a Batman Beyond feature alongside alleged Terry McGinnis-favorite, Timothée Chalamet,
Initially suggested to be a TV series by prior sources, Lauder reports the futuristic HBO Max Original project is intended to be one of the two yearly DC movies Walter Hamada made reference to during a recent interview with The New York Times.
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According to one of Lauder’s sources, Chalamet and Keaton are close to signing on the dotted line.”
“They have been in talks to star in what will be a Batman Beyond feature-length movie, not a TV show like I previously told [Lauder],” the source continued. “This Batman Beyond film will be released straight to HBO Max and will be part of the DCEU.”
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Lauder further noted that additional sources had corroborated this claim, relaying a second source’s claim that “As it stands, Batman Beyond will actually be a film, not a TV show. It’ll be coming to HBO Max – one of their two DC Comics movies a year – and it’s looking like both Keaton and Chalamet will be starring in it.”
“Keaton will be back as Bruce Wayne and Chalamet is being lined up to play Terry McGinnis,” the source added, emphasizing that the project is “still [in its] early days, however, but it’s looking more and more nailed on with every passing minute.”
Lauder himself would further reminds his readers that “things can still change,” but positively conceded that “as it stands, it seems as thought Batman Beyond is coming”.
Though this new information seems to contradict LightCast’s recent report that Keaton wouldn’t be replacing anyone or sticking around for further adventures in the DCEU, a similar report by Geekosity‘s Mikey Sutton seems to back up Lauder’s exclusive.
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“First of all, the new Keaton Dark Knight films being planned are true; however, he won’t really be the star,” Sutton wrote. “Rather, it’s the Batman Beyond property that I broke on June 24 on the Lords of the Longbox website.”
But, Sutton demurs on HBO Max details. “At the time, the live-action Batman Beyond was only going to be on HBO Max; however, Warner Bros. eventually felt that this was too commercially huge to stay put on their streaming network,” he explained.
With this update, it seems Batman Beyond might be staying put on the streaming service, where the original cartoons series is currently available alongside its DCAU predecessor, Batman: The Animated Series.
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However, it’s important to note that Chalamet’s reps have reacted to these reports, saying in a statement to Small Screen, “None of it is accurate as it relates to Timothée. Per Chalamet’s representative, this story is not true.”
Before you let that deflate your sails, remember this isn’t the first denial made by actors or their reps. In fact, one has to look no further than the Warner Bros.-DC and their Keaton-Batman decision, as the actor denied any intention of reprising his now seemingly-confirmed role as the Dark Knight in The Flash during an October interview with Jimmy Kimmel.
Of course, one of the most recent and particularly extensive examples is that of Obi-Wan actor Ewan McGregor, who actively denied for years that he was returning to Star Wars despite having signed on to star in a solo series based on the iconic Jedi for Disney+.
Do you think Keaton will stick around to train Terry McGinnis? Let us know your thoughts and speculation on social media or in the comments down below!