The Flash's Biggest Batman Moment Deserves A Closer Look
This post contains spoilers for "The Flash."
Although it would have been nice to experience it as a surprise, it would have been foolhardy of Warner Bros. not to include Michael Keaton's "Batman" in the advertising for Andy Muschietti's new superhero film "The Flash." The film sees the title hero, in a moment of grief, running so fast that he blasts into an alternate timeline. In said timeline, he goes to find Batman for help, hoping to find the version of the character played by Ben Affleck. Instead, he finds the version of Bruce Wayne as he appeared in Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman" film. It's a wonderful blast of nostalgia for those who grew up watching the Burton films.
"The Flash" is replete with references to Burton's film, including appearances by the 1989 Batmobile, the 1989 Batman suit, the 1989 Batwing, and the mechanical aesthetics of the 1989 Batcave.
It is this version of Bruce Wayne who explains to the Flash (Ezra Miller) how time travel actually works. One can go back in time, he says, and it will indeed create an alternate timeline, just like it might in a "Back to the Future" sequel. Causality 101. But, Batman points out, it's not just an alternate future you create, but also an alternate past. Hence, when the Flash traveled back in time, he prevented Ben Affleck from becoming Bruce Wayne, prevented Superman from landing on Earth, and a host of other unforeseen changes. Monkeying with time travel, it seems, is more complicated than the Flash considered.
By the end of the film, as in all time travel stories, a status quo of sorts has been restored. The Flash is back home, and Batman is back ...
Or is he? Is that ... George Clooney?
Batman & Robin
Yes, the very last scene in "The Flash" is Barry Allen exiting a courthouse after a personal legal victory. He is the phone with his Justice League teammate Bruce Wayne, hoping to talk to him in person. Mr. Wayne pulls up in a fancy car, and he is mobbed by reporters as he exits. The sea of paparazzi parts, and Barry sees that Bruce now looks a lot like George Clooney, the actor who played Batman in the infamous 1997 bomb "Batman & Robin." Barry is baffled for a moment, but then a grim understanding washes over him. This "present day" he has returned to is not exactly the same as the one he left.
It's additionally confusing, as Clooney and Keaton (as well as Val Kilmer) all seemingly played the same version of Bruce Wayne. The two Tim Burton Batman films and the two Joel Schumacher Batman films all share a single continuity, with Michael Gough (Alfred) and Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) appearing across all three movies. So it seems that the Keaton character survived the events of "The Flash," and ended up in a timeline where he looks like George Clooney. Clear as mud.
The George Clooney reveal was either a last-minute addition to "The Flash" or simply a very well-kept secret. According to a few industry insiders, early cuts of "The Flash" ended with Barry Allen reacting to the new Bruce Wayne in confusion, but there was no cut back to Wayne's face. All early audiences knew was that Bruce Wayne wasn't Ben Affleck. Rumors began that a scene had indeed already been shot, but had been deliberately left out of early screenings. Unsubstantiated rumors flew that the Flash was going to meet the version of Batman played by Robert Pattinson.
Obviously, that didn't happen.
Welcome back, Mr. Clooney
Clooney's actual involvement in production was not revealed until later screenings, and as of this writing, no audiences know exactly when his scenes were filmed.
It's weirdly refreshing to see Clooney in the role, however. For one, Warner Bros. seems to be "taking back" one of history's more notorious bombs, embracing the silly Joel Schumacher camp-fest as part of accepted Batman canon. Additionally, because Clooney and Keaton apparently play the same character, it implies that Keaton's Batman, although seen in a very dire battlefield situation, must have survived and thrived and lived into the alternate version of himself (as laid out by the Batman films of the 1990s). Whether or not the Clooney Bruce Wayne was also briefly a Val Kilmer Bruce Wayne was not stated.
Here's a rumor I'd like to start: "The Flash" will be released in theaters with different endings going to different screening rooms, like with "Clue." All of these endings were filmed (wink), and one will have to see "The Flash" in multiple theaters to see them all. In one ending, the guest Batman was Clooney. In another, it was Pattinson. In a third, it was Kilmer. In a fourth, it was Christian Bale. In a fifth, it was Burt Ward. In a sixth, it was an animated Lego Batman voiced by Will Arnett.
Is this true? No, it isn't. But given the surprise of seeing Clooney in "The Flash," it's fun to consider that kind of thing could actually be possible.