Michael Keaton recalls the initial reaction that comic book fans had when he was chosen to portray Batman in the 1989 Tim Burton-directed film.
Until then, Batman had been a character on a campy television series. However, Batman would mark a before and after for the superhero movie genre. “When they said ‘We’re thinking of doing Batman,’ I said, ‘Wait, you’re thinking of making a movie about Batman?’,” Keaton said in an interview with GQ.
He continued, “The fact that Tim said ‘That guy, I want that guy’… the fact that people cared one way or another so much is still baffling.
But that was a ballsy move on his part. We also had a nice working relationship from Beetlejuice, so he felt that he and I could get along and would work well together.” Keaton played the titular role in the 1989 film and would reprise the Bruce Wayne character in 1992’s Batman Returns.
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