Fans could not believe their eyes and ears when it was announced recently that Michael Keaton was being courted to return as Batman for the upcoming Flash movie. Said to be based on the Flashpoint Paradox arc, it was assumed that the plot would follow the comic book more closely and bring back Batman V Superman's Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne's version of the Dark Knight, but this does not appear to be the case. Morgan recently addressed the issue, with the The Walking Dead star able to poke fun at his apparent rejection.

"Michael Keaton swooped in and took my gig. Naw, I think that's super cool. Ever since Zack Snyder walked away, my whole kind of bit in that world has walked away with him. However, there's always a chat going on. So, we'll see!"

The Flash movie, which is due for release sometime in 2022, is said to be based on the comic arc The Flashpoint Paradox, which saw the fastest man alive travel back in time in order to save his mother. However, things go wrong, as time travel shenanigans so often do, with The Flash emerging in a bleaker universe in which the Amazons and Atlanteans are at war. Flash's time-meddling will likely lead to Keaton's involvement, with the potential for multiverses, as well as alternate versions of other famous characters, no doubt in the DC cinematic universe's future.

This alternate version of the DC universe finds Bruce Wayne dead, killed at the hands of the same criminal who murders his parents in the original timeline. This leads to Thomas Wayne taking up the mantle of Batman, and applying his own, much more violent tactics.

Though Jeffrey Dean Morgan sounds like he has accepted that the possibility of playing the alternate Batman has shrunk considerably, the actor has not yet completely given up hope. Morgan has been reiterated his desire to return to the DC cinematic universe several times over the years, saying previously, "Look, I don't know, I mean if there's a chance that would ask me, I'd say yes. I think the Flashpoint story is, it's my favorite story. I would love to do it. But, you know, DC is DC and they're, you know, it's a constant... it seems like they're always kinda switching up who's running it and what they're gonna do," Morgan observed. "So hopefully, what I'd like to see is a little continuity with DC, have them get on the track, and then, man I'd be honored and love to do it more than anything."

It has been heavily rumored that Michael Keaton has been approached to appear in the cape and cowl in The Flash. For now, we have no idea how Michael Keaton's Dark Knight will be brought into the fray, though it has been reported that this will be more than a one-off cameo. Reportedly, the idea is to have Keaton's Bruce Wayne act as the DC cinematic universe's version of Nick Fury, showing up in different, individual superhero movies and offering his assistance. This comes to us from Comicbook.com.