Apparently, We're Getting Three Different Batmans in 2022

Everyone is hoping that the year 2021 is going to be better for us than the last year, and we already want 2022 to be a good one, too. With the news that we're getting three different Batmans in 2022, it's already off to a great start. For anyone wondering if Michael Keaton is coming back as Batman, all signs point to yes. Here's what we know so far. 

We've already known that we will be getting a new Batman movie soon. It's apparently slated to be released in 2022, after getting delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new one has been revealed to be starring former Twilight vampire Robert Pattinson. 

Before it was revealed that Robert won the role of the caped superhero, there were many rumors and talk online about who was going to get the role. There were a lot of new actors suggested, but so were the ones of the past. Both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck were being looked at to reprise their roles of Batman, but no one thought that would happen once the news that Robert had been cast was released.

There was little hope that Michael Keaton would be coming back as Batman, but now it seems we will be seeing his return. According to CNET, "Michael Keaton and Robert Pattinson will both take on the role of the Caped Crusader in separate Warner Bros. film sagas in 2022, and Ben Affleck will wear the cowl one more time the same year."

How are they planning to make different DC movies with three different versions of Batman? Warner Bros. is planning to implement a popular comic book tactic of parallel universes, which was done in the Spider-Man franchise, The New York Times revealed. 

New York Times reporter Brooks Barnes confirmed these details to Néstor Bentancor, a film critic for the bilingual site Desde Hollywood, when he asked on Twitter, "Based on your [DC Film president Walter] Hamada piece, some have interpreted that WB is doing two franchises starring Batman, one with Pattinson, one with a new actor. Is that correct, or you were referring to Keaton as a second Batman, being part of a non-Batman-centric saga?"  

Barnes responded with one word: "Keaton."

The Batman, starring Robert Patterson, is scheduled to come out in 2022 and will exist in a universe called Earth 2. Earth 2 will also feature new actors playing other characters who are familiar in the DC Universe. 

The parallel universe to Earth 2 is being called Earth 1, which will feature the actors who are currently playing the comic roles, including Wonder Woman being played by Gal Gadot. 

Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck will both play Batman in the 2022 film The Flash, starring Ezra Miller's version of the titular character, who would, it seems, exist on Earth 1. According to Walter Hamada, The Flash will be the link between Earth 1 and Earth 2's universes.

"The multiverse concept has worked on television, but it is a risky strategy for big screens," The New York Times reported. "These movies need to attract the widest audience possible to justify their cost, and too much of a comic nerd sensibility can be a turnoff. New actors can take over a character; James Bond is the best example. But multiple Gothams spinning in theaters?"

“I don’t think anyone else has ever attempted this,” Hamada told the Times. “But audiences are sophisticated enough to understand it. If we make good movies, they will go with it.”