Times reporter Brooks Barnes unintentionally generated the social media chatter when he elaborated this weekend on a profile piece he filed last month. In the earlier report, DC Films head Walter Hamada revealed DC is embracing a full-throated vision of the multiverse, with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman cited as occupying what Hamada described as “Earth 1,” and Robert Pattinson’s upcoming interpretation of Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ The Batman existing in “Earth 2.” Presumably this means “Earth 1” is the DCEU since Gadot previously starred opposite Ben Affleck as Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017)—and all of which excludes Michael Keaton’s iconic performance as the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). However, in a recent tweet, Barnes was asked to clarify what he meant in his feature by writing, “Warner Bros. will have two different film sagas involving Batman – played by two different actors – running at the same time.” Was he referring to Keaton appearing as the other Batman, separate from Pattinson’s “Earth 2” Dark Knight? “Keaton,” was Barnes’ one-word reply. “I was referring to the one film that Keaton has been announced as being in,” Barnes wrote, “not a set of his own Batman films. If I had info on him beyond ‘The Flash,’ I would have obviously put it in my article.” So it would seem speculation of Keaton’s re-return to Batman movies were greatly overstated. Those desperate to keep DCEU continuity, such as it is, in tact can rest easy. *This article was updated to reflect Barnes’ latest statement regarding the online chatter.
