Of all the actors who have played Batman over the years, Michael Keaton may be the most controversial. However, director Tim Burton had the intuition and foresight to cast the actor in 1989’s Batman despite 50,000 people sending written protests to Warner Bros. at the time.
Before working on the superhero film, Burton and Keaton worked together on 1988’s Beetlejuice. But that wasn’t the reason why the latter was considered the ideal choice to play one of DC’s most beloved antiheroes. In an interview with GQ, Burton revealed that the Birdman actor had a “special energy” that he felt was perfect for Batman.
He said, “That’s why I wanted him to be in Batman, because you look in his eyes and he looks intelligent, scary, crazy, all at once.” Keaton expressed his thoughts on the subject, crediting the director for “everything” and praising his “bold” decision to make the film with him despite the criticism.
“Tim deserves a huge amount of credit. He changed everything,” he said. “There’s a strong possibility that there wouldn’t have been a Marvel Universe or a DC Universe without Tim Burton. He was doubted and questioned,” he said.
The actor revealed that Burton had seen his 1988 drama film Clean and Sober, which played a key role in his casting. He said, “I think what happened was that Tim had seen Clean and Sober. I take credit for that.” Due to the director’s foresight and accurate intuition, Keaton’s portrayal as Wayne is still considered one of the best.
Following the Batman film, he reprised his role in the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, appeared in an unproduced Batgirl film, and made a cameo appearance in 2023’s The Flash. Now, the iconic actor-director duo have reunited for a remake of another fan-favorite film, Beetlejuice.
Meanwhile, Keaton will play an erratic ghost who appears when summoned and wreaks havoc in the town. Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder will reprise their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz, respectively.
Teasing the highly-anticipated sequel, which also stars Wednesday fame Jenna Ortega, Keaton explained how the part will be more story-driven and less about Beetlejuice’s antics. “The idea was, no, no, no, you can’t fill it with Beetlejuice, that will kill it,” he explained. Although the iconic ghost is prominent in the story, he doesn’t drive the narrative forward like in the first part.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits theaters September 6th.
