Michael Keaton updates he's still in 'discussions' to reprise Batman role in 'The Flash'

Over the summer, DC fans got a jolt of excitement when it was announced that Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck would both be returning to play different versions of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Andy Muschietti's standalone Flash movie starring Ezra Miller. However, Keaton's involvement may not be as assured as we previously thought.

"I can't confirm anything," the actor said during a virtual appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night. "We're having discussions, as they say. We're talking about it, we'll see if it happens." Keaton also joked that "all 127" Batmen will be appearing in the film as well. When Kimmel asked him to name the best Caped Crusader of them all, he answered: "Me!"

A few moments later, Kimmel asked if Keaton still has his Batman costume. "I will slip into it now and then," the actor joked. "If I'm just feeling insecure, I'm just slip into the suit and it makes me feel a whole lot better. I'll walk around the neighborhood a little bit. When things around here get a little bit nervous-making, I just put the suit on and boy, do things straighten the f*** up."

Bringing back different Batmen makes sense in the context of a Flash story, especially one influenced by the iconic "Flashpoint" comic book storyline by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert. In it, Barry Allen goes back in time to prevent the death of his mother, but ends up messing with the flow of reality. Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) has been tapped to pen the screenplay and promised at DC FanDome that a "cinematic multiverse is gonna be born out of this movie."

"By opening that door that 'Flashpoint' did in the comics, all of these stories and characters can start to collide," added Miller, who already met the Grant Gustin version of Barry Allen in The CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover TV event.

The Flash is scheduled to run into theaters everywhere Nov. 4, 2022.

Keaton also has a foot in the MCU, where he'll return as Spidey villain Adrien Toomes/Vulture in Morbius.