The First Footage Of Keaton's Batman In The 'The Flash' Makes No Sense

Harkening back to a time when Taco Bell collector’s cups were worth their weight in gold, the 1989-era Michael Keaton Batman is set to appear in the upcoming DC blockbuster The Flash. Fans have already been treated to one trailer featuring the return of Bruce Wayne … ’s dimly lit head, filmed entirely from behind.

And the newest trailer, which has yet to be made public, was recently screened for industry guests at CinemaCon, and it reportedly features much more Keaton footage, including a moment where he asks The Flash: “You wanna get nuts? Okay, let’s get nuts.” This is, of course, a reference to the famous moment in the ‘89 movie when Keaton smashes up Vicki Vale’s apartment before getting shot by The Joker.

Batman repeating this dialogue years later, though, makes no goddamn sense whatsoever. Isn’t it objectively weird that he would say the line again, in an entirely new context, almost word for word? It wasn’t like this was his catchphrase or anything, it was just something he randomly said in an ex-girlfriend’s apartment one time. And while the exact motivations behind this moment have been the subject of some fan debate, the most logical interpretation is that Bruce only went “nuts” purely to divert Joker’s menace away from Vicki and onto him – hence why he protected himself with a tiny silver bulletproof serving tray. 

Although, if this was all part of Batman’s elaborate plan, it’s definitely weird that he would tip his hand so much, and reveal to the Joker that playboy Bruce Wayne A) seemingly has major psychological problems and B) has detailed knowledge about the intricacies of his criminal past. Well it turns out that there’s a good reason why much of this doesn’t add up; it was all thrown together at the last minute. Originally, the focus of the scene in the script involved Bruce recovering his utility belt, which he somehow left out in “plain view.”

Sensing that the sequence wasn’t quite working, producer (and Licorice Pizza villain) Jon Peters and director Tim Burton got together in Peters’ hotel suite and improvised a new version of the scene, with Peters playing Batman and Burton playing Vicki (sadly none of this was filmed, apparently). And this was just two days before the cameras rolled. The actors also added in their own ideas during rehearsals, resulting in a compelling, though not exactly logically airtight, scene.

The “wanna get nuts” line only became a thing outside the world of Burton’s Batman, popping up as meta-references in films like The LEGO Batman Movie and in Keaton’s cameo as Julian Assange on Saturday Night Live.

But it’s not like Keaton’s Batman himself ever said it again; and he had an entire second movie, in which he battled sewer-dwelling circus folk, to drop it in. Hopefully this news doesn’t mean that The Flash will culminate with Keaton winking at the camera and whipping out a cassette of Prince’s “Batdance.”

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Top Image: Warner Bros.