Michael Keaton assures Stephen Colbert that his bat-suit still fits after 30 years
The 70-year-old actor is reprising his iconic superhero role in the upcoming The Flash
TV News Michael Keaton
While Seth Meyers had a couple of current-day superheroes on Late Night, in the form of dynamic duo Dune and See co-stars Jason (Aquaman) Momoa and Dave (Drax) Bautista, Stephen Colbert went back to the old school for his hero-worship on Tuesday. Michael Keaton, technically there to promote the sure-to-be devastating opioid drama miniseries Dopesick, fielded Colbert’s inevitable Batman questions with characteristic (for Batman, anyway) tight lips, but did confirm at least one thing about his 30-years-later return to the role—yes, he can still rock a bat-suit.
“Svelte as ever, man,” Keaton assured Colbert of his ability to still squeeze into that rubberized protective super-gear. For Batman fans of a certain age, Michael Keaton is the Bat, his two-film turn in Tim Burton’s take on the Dark Knight seared, bat-signal-style, into their collective consciousness. And while Keaton was more than generous in praising all the big screen Batmen who similarly strapped on their versions of Brice Wayne’s nighttime attire (Will Arnett’s Lego Batman being his perhaps-unlikely favorite), he did admit that he, Arnett, Clooney, Kilmer, Affleck, Bale, Pattinson, and the rest don’t hang out much. Keaton suggested a Bat-union to address the select group’s collective post-Bat issues (the cape welts alone must be a constant irritation), and the thought of Keaton presiding over a VFW-esque conclave of Bruce Waynes, all swapping Joker war stories and joshing Clooney over those Bat-nipples is pretty delightful.
Still, Keaton wasn’t sharing much in the way of plot details for his fanboy-fueling return as Batman in the upcoming The Flash. For those DC fans in the know, it looks like Ezra Miller’s speedster will muck up the comics continuity via some too-fast dimension-hopping to the extent that he travels to a Flashpoint-derived world where the older Bruce Wayne is still forced to don the suit to protect Gotham City. (Honestly, that’s still a lot more coherent than the mess that DC made of its own continuity in the comics, as everyone who sat out that New 52 nonsense can attest.)
Regardless, on this plane of existence, the real Keaton has largely shifted into the “real-life heroes fighting actual injustice” phase of his acting career. After his crusading reporter in Spotlight, crusading lawyer in Worth, and crusading small-town doctor testifying to the insidious destructiveness of Perdue Pharma’s lucrative and over-prescribed opioids in Dopesick, Keaton seemed happy to beat up some fictional villainous types once more in The Flash. Still, the actor’s repeated name-dropping of drug-merchants Perdue and its nefarious Sackler clan in the context of the opioid crisis felt like Keaton’s version of a series of devastating Bat-kicks to the face.
Dopesick premieres on Hulu on October 13.
26 Comments
But what about his birdsuit?
I love Michael Keaton so much! He’s hilarious in Night Shift and even though it’s a bit of a family movie and not so “cool”, Mr. Mom is awesome. He brought so many little great moments to it.
There’s not too many on youtube, but his appearances on Letterman were always great too. He and Dave are old friends and worked together on a Mary Tyler Moore show….they often broke out the awkward clip of them dancing.
He’s definitely one of those actors I wish would do more.
Very funny movie. The killer vacuum cleaner.
The Dream Team was one that I recently revisited after not seeing it for ~20 years. He’s fabulous in it, and it’s a surprisingly affecting film.
Just rewatched Multiplicity for the first time in years, and he was just excellent in that. Great Party Steve!
One of my favorite movies from the ‘80s is Gung Ho, which could have been just another rote ‘80s comedy except for Keaton’s performance (and Thomas Newman’s amazing score – my second-favorite of his from this era, behind The Man With One Red Shoe).
YES! Gung Ho is really fun. I don’t usually point to this example since I love cars and probably give it a little higher grade than most non-car people.
Also…I’m hoping you’re a Teo Fabi fan.
Why yes, yes I am!
Back in the days when we thought the future was going to belong to Japan, and China was still recovering from Mao!
And he’s old enough now that they could adapt “The Dark Knight Returns” with him as Batman. Maybe even with Nicholson. Hey, I can dream, right?
My husband and I quote him all the time in Mr. Mom scene when he meets Martin Mull with a chainsaw in hand: “Yeah, you gonna make it all 220?” “Yeah, 220, 221, whatever it takes.”
Bearded, sloppy, flannel-bedecked Keaton in Mr. Mom just does it for me.
“Bruce Waynes”
Bro, it’s Bruces Wayne. Does this place not have a style guide?
He’s a Wayne-iac!
Brice Wayne? Jesus…
In regards to the line about his roles as do-gooders and justice, don’t forget his turn as real life Attorney General Ramsey Clark in the Trial of the Chicago 7.
and spotlight
The article mentioned that one. I agree it was very good though.
Hi Stheve…. I like peetha!
It’s a good thing Keaton has never done drugs, because can you imagine 80’s Michael Keaton on cocaine?
i’m thinking beetlejuice.
“Wanna get nuts? Let get nuts!” I feel like I’m on coke just thinking about that scene.
That was one thing I definitely noticed in The Protégé—Keaton was clearly in better shape than Sam Jackson at roughly the same age. Sure, most of Keaton’s fight scenes conspicuously involved him getting thrown around while not looking at the camera, but he was doing some of the choreography himself. Meanwhile Jackson mostly sat down or pointed guns. (this is intended as surprise at Keaton, not disappointment that 72-year-old Sam Jackson can’t do fight choreography)I suppose it’s possible the Keaton scenes involved a digital face on top of a stunt guy, but if they were willing to put that effort into faking it for him, why not throw Jackson some similarly faked combat?
i don’t think keaton was playing a 70 year old character, is the difference.i also think sam jackson deliberately takes roles that allow him the maximum amount of sitting down on screen. i noticed that with denzel washington’s recent action movies too.
Batsick
I love Michael Keaton and I’m looking forward to Dopesick after having read Empire of Pain earlier this year. I know that Dopesick is based off of a different book, but the broad topic is compelling. I hope the miniseries is good (Empire of Pain is phenomenal, btw). Worth was disappointing. Maybe because it starred Keaton and Tucci tackling themes of social justice, but I spent much of the movie aware that Spotlight was so much better. Worth is clunky and fails to really grapple in a substantive way with the central questions that it poses. Instead it sort of states the issue (whose life is worth more—a janitor or a CEO? Who is owed more compensation—the janitor’s family who needs it more, or the CEO’s family who stands to loose much more in lifetime earnings? How do you put a price tag on a life and a loss?) then backs away from it. I suppose that had to happen to remain true to history. But the film itself could have explored those issues much more deeply than it did. The result is that it sort of ended up reinforcing the problematic hierarchies that it suggests are so toxic to begin with. That, and the central tension is sort of weak. Building a movie around whether enough families will sign up for the fund before the deadline isn’t exactly heart-racing, edge of your seat drama.