Andy Muschietti’s DCEU film The Flash is set to see multiple iterations of Batman collide. However, there is one version of Gotham’s caped crusader that won’t be making an appearance. In an interview with Variety, George Clooney has shared that, unlike Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, he won’t be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne for the upcoming action movie.
While promoting his latest drama movie, The Tender Bar, Clooney, who played Bruce Wayne in the film Batman & Robin, was asked if – like his fellow Batman alumni – he would appear in Muschietti’s highly anticipated film. “They didn’t ask me,” Clooney explained. “When you destroy a franchise the way I did, usually they look the other way when The Flash comes by.”
The 1997 film, Batman & Robin, saw Clooney take on the role of Bruce Wayne. The flick revolved around the hero and his sidekick Robin (Chris O’Donnell) battling against the DC villains Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman), and Bane (Robert Swenson). The film is, still to this day, the lowest-grossing Batman movie in the series’ history and currently holds an impressively low 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its financial and critical failure eventually led Warner Bros to cancel its sequel and reboot the series eight years later with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.
Clooney’s Batman may not have been a success, but he may still make a DCEU comeback. Although The Flash’s plot details are still being kept under wraps, we know that some multiverse-like action will be introduced into the DC timeline.
Set photos have revealed the speedy superhero Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) encountering Michael Keaton, who played Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s Batman movies, and Ben Affleck, who played the role in Zack Snyder’s take on the character. So, who knows, we may still get a surprising George Clooney Cameo, and maybe even Val Kilmer and Christian Bale too.
Currently, The Flash is scheduled to drop on November 4, 2022 in cinemas across the UK and US. While we wait on more updates, get your superhero fix with our guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.