'We bought him lunch': Michael Keaton's Batman returns in 'The Flash' to help reset DC universe

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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LAS VEGAS – What's the best way to get Michael Keaton back in the Batsuit after three decades? Through his stomach.

"We bought him lunch. That’s it," director Andy Muschietti joked at CinemaCon on Tuesday about Keaton's Batman returning to the big screen in the keenly anticipated DC superhero movie "The Flash" (in theaters June 16). Muschietti was only partly kidding: He took Keaton to the actor's favorite Italian restaurant for a meeting and he was "thrilled" by the script. "We had an amazing conversation about where we’d find Bruce Wayne 30 years after we saw him for the last time."

A few hours before "The Flash" premiered at the convention for theaters and studios, a new trailer showed Keaton, who last donned the cape and cowl for 1992's "Batman Returns," spouting a classic line: "You wanna get nuts? Let's get nuts."

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A debuting Supergirl (Sasha Calle, center) teams with multiple versions of the title speedster (Ezra Miller) in the DC superhero movie "The Flash."
A debuting Supergirl (Sasha Calle, center) teams with multiple versions of the title speedster (Ezra Miller) in the DC superhero movie "The Flash."

In the movie, the Flash (Ezra Miller) uses his super-speed to go back in time to save his parents, but ends up messing up the world. So to help, he teams with another version of himself, a new Supergirl (Sasha Calle) and a Batman who needs to be coaxed out of retirement.

"The Flash" resets the characters' landscape but also the moviegoing one, too, said Peter Safran, co-head of the new DC Studios alongside James Gunn. While Gunn is off promoting the upcoming release of his closing Marvel movie "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," Safran came to Vegas to promote the three movies – "Flash," "Blue Beetle" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" – that arrive before a rebooted slate that begins with Gunn's "Superman: Legacy" in 2025.

"This DC universe is vast, interconnected and filled with promise and possibility," Safran teased.

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'Blue Beetle' is a Latino superhero movie all about family

Xolo Maridueña stars as a recent college grad who becomes the host of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology that gives him an armored suit and unpredictable powers in "Blue Beetle."
Xolo Maridue?a stars as a recent college grad who becomes the host of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology that gives him an armored suit and unpredictable powers in "Blue Beetle."

Director Angel Manuel Soto and stars Xolo Maridue?a and Bruna Marquezine were on hand to introduce an extended "Blue Beetle" trailer and also talk about the film (in theaters Aug. 18).

Xolo Maridue?a stars as Jaime Reyes, a Mexican American youngster who becomes one with an alien scarab that gives him an armored suit and superpowers, and Soto wanted an origin story that was "as authentic as possible and deals with this character as he has to navigate this refusal to the call."

Unlike other do-gooders, though, Jaime doesn't have a secret identity and his relatives are on the ride with him. "We talked about good luck hiding something from your Latina mother," Soto said. "We wanted them to feel like not only are they there, but they help him to get to the place of being the next superhero."

Batman has Gotham City and Superman has Metropolis, so Solo designed Palerma City for Blue Beetle, a neon-lit place that's Miami in the 1980s and a melting pot of Latino communities. And stepping into the Beetle supersuit was like "a young nerd's fantasy," Maridue?a said. "His situation is one that we can all relate to. Maybe not the scarab part."

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'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ trailer teases unexpected 'fun bromance'

Arthur (Jason Momoa, left) squares off with his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), in 2018's "Aquaman." But the twosome have to team up to prevent a great evil from being unleashed in the upcoming sequel.
Arthur (Jason Momoa, left) squares off with his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), in 2018's "Aquaman." But the twosome have to team up to prevent a great evil from being unleashed in the upcoming sequel.

Director James Wan and star Jason Momoa both sent in video messages to introduce the first trailer for the "Aquaman" sequel (out Dec. 20), which featured glimpses of Nicole Kidman as Aquaman's mom Atlanna and Amber Heard as love interest Mera and new roles for some returning villains.

Wan describes the film as "an action adventure with a fun bromance," and Aquaman has to team with his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the main baddie in the 2018 first film, because the hero needs help to stop vengeful arch rival Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) from using the magical Black Trident to unleash a great evil on the surface and water worlds.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Flash': Michael Keaton's Batman returns opposite Ezra Miller

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