In The Flash, when Barry Allen and his younger, alternate timeline counterpart make their way to Wayne Manor in an attempt to enlist the aid of Batman, they discover that this reality's Bruce Wayne is a completely different person, and hasn't been operating as Gotham City's protector for a long time.
Bruce (Michael Keaton) drops a few vague hints about his reasons for hanging up the cape and cowl, but director Andy Muschietti has now revealed that the movie originally featured a scene which explained exactly why he decided to stop being Batman, and fans will get to see it on the eventual Blu-ray release.
"The insertion of the [Michael Keaton Bruce Wayne] story set up some questions, which is part of a big question that you ask yourself when you're approaching a movie like this," the filmmaker said while chatting to Indiewire for their Toolkit podcast. "But it was a fun process. How much of [Tim Burton's movies] do we abide by? How much of the aesthetics, how much of the tone?"
"I was very attracted to the idea of finding Bruce Wayne 30 years later and seeing him and basically fantasizing about what his life would have been 30 years later. The idea of, also, the reason why he quit being Batman was very important to me. There's a deleted scene, and you will see in the extras of the digital version of the DVD where that scene is there. We took it out for pacing reasons, but for me, it's very revealing and very important."
Muschietti goes on to explain why the Caped Crusader's tech had evolved so much since we last saw him in Tim Burton's Batman movies.
"The idea of transformation was important to me. I didn't want to find Bruce Wayne in the same spot where we left him 30 years ago. I wanted to create a bit of backstory where he kept being Batman for a few more years, hence the new gadgets and the technology that we see. You see that everything looks like the designs of the Tim Burton movies, but a little altered. His suit is slightly different, the Batwing is different — it's a three-seater now, and he has that rotating technology that was included. I just had fun exploring it."
Keaton's Batman was going to feature in several other DC projects before James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as DC Studios co-heads. There's a chance he will get to reprise the role down the line, but with The Flash currently underperforming, it's probably not very likely.
"Directed by Andy Muschietti, The Flash features Barry Allen traveling back in time in order to change events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to help. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian…albeit not the one he’s looking for.
Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?"
The Flash is produced by Barbara Muschietti and Michael Disco, with a screenplay by Christina Hodson, and a screen story by John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein and Joby Harold, based on characters from DC. Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Double Dream/a Disco Factory production of an Andy Muschietti film.