Why’d Bruce Wayne Quit Being Batman?

It could appear that audiences didn’t, the truth is, wish to get nuts. Regardless of the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman, DC Studios’ The Flash wound up as one in every of 2023’s greatest field workplace disappointments. Up to now, the movie has grossed solely $107 million in the USA and $267 million worldwide. Barbie — from the identical studio, Warner Bros. — simply made more cash than that in its opening weekend alone. And The Flash reportedly price at the least $50 million greater than Barbie to provide.

We are able to debate the the reason why, however I believe one of many large points was that whereas Keaton himself was terrific reprising his function as Batman, the character throughout the movie didn’t make a ton of sense. The Flash alters the timeline, which leads to the Ben Affleck Batman being worn out of existence, changed as a substitute by Michael Keaton’s Batman — not only a totally different actor, however a complete totally different era of actor. The the reason why are by no means solely clear.

On prime of that, Keaton’s Batman has lengthy since retired from his function as Darkish Knight of Gotham Metropolis when the Flash finds him. Wayne Manor is mendacity in destroy. And when the Flash arrives there, Keaton’s Bruce Wayne is sort of a hermit; his hair is lengthy, he’s received a beard, he’s dwelling alone. Why? What occurred?

The Flash doesn’t actually clarify. They point out that Gotham Metropolis is peaceable now, and apparently that left Batman and not using a goal or one thing? Why doing job destroy Batman’s life? That was not made clear — and inside a couple of scenes, Bruce is again in his previous costume serving to the Flash, and there’s little or no time to dwell on character motivations after that.

A brand new featurette simply launched by Warner Bros. lastly explains the backstory that clearly received lower sooner or later in the course of the The Flash’s growth course of. Within the video under across the 3:00 mark, The Flash director Andy Muschietti particulars a complete unseen, unmentioned previous that was supposed to elucidate Batman’s retirement.

Here’s what Muschietti says:

I all the time mentioned one thing ought to have occurred to Bruce Wayne to wish to cease being Batman. And my thought was he did one thing that goes towards his code. He killed a legal in entrance of this little one. Unknowingly, however he nonetheless did it. Which is an actual mirroring scenario of what occurred to him when his mother and father had been killed in entrance of the Monarch Theater, and that created that ‘monster’ that Batman is. And so he simply couldn’t address it, and that’s why he determined to close off his different facet, Batman.

 

READ MORE: Each Batman Actor, Ranked From Worst to First

I do not know why this was lower from the movie. Perhaps they didn’t wish to painting Batman as a killer. Perhaps they felt the film was too lengthy and it wanted to be shortened, and this was one thing that was deemed superfluous. Perhaps they realized that Michael Keaton’s Batman completely killed a complete bunch of men in Tim Burton’s Batman and he didn’t appear too choked up about it again then. (Bear in mind how he blew up Axis Chemical compounds with all of the Joker’s goons inside?)

Regardless of the motive, none of Muschietti’s clarification for Bruce Wayne’s hermit-like existence wound up in The Flash. It wouldn’t have solved the entire film’s issues, however it could have least defined this Batman somewhat bit higher. It’s a disgrace it was lower out.

The Flash is on the market on Digital now; the 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD will all be obtainable on August 29.