Michael Keaton Gets Candid About His Lost Batman Performance in ‘Batgirl'

Michael Keaton got candid in a new interview with GQ about his role as Batman in Warner Brothers’ Batgirl movie, which audiences will never get to see.

Keaton reprised his role as Bruce Wayne in Batgirl , which starred Leslie Grace in the title role and Brendan Fraser as the villainous Firefly. The film was directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who have helmed the last two Bad Boys installments . Batgirl was scheduled for a 2022 streaming debut on Max, but in an unprecedented move, its release was canceled entirely.

The decision led to an uproar amongst fans and some members of the film’s cast , but one person who wasn’t bothered by the imbroglio was Keaton. When asked if he was disappointed audiences wouldn’t get to see him return as Batman, the actor shrugged it off.

“No, I didn't care one way or another,” Keaton replied. “Big, fun, nice check,” he said of the experience. GQ noted that, as Keaton spoke, he was “rubbing his fingers together in the universal gesture for ‘moolah.’”

After considering for a moment, Keaton said of El Arbi and Fallah, “I like those boys. They're nice guys. I pull for them. I want them to succeed, and I think they felt very badly, and that made me feel bad.”

A “shrugging” Keaton concluded: “Me? I'm good.”

Various reasons were given for Warner Bros. killing the film, including negative reception to test screenings and internal debate over apparently shoddy special effects. Variety reported that studio execs felt that Batgirl was neither large enough for a theatrical release nor small enough for a streaming release. They decided that axing the film and writing it off for a tax break would be the most “financially sound” way to deal with the movie.

Keaton was reportedly also cut from Warner's Aquaman 2 after shooting scenes as the caped crusader, but Batman fans weren’t completely robbed of seeing Keaton return to the cowl. The actor reprised the role in the studio's much-maligned The Flash , in a turn many critics agreed was the movie’s sole attribute.

“I'm nothing but only respectful and grateful, 100 percent,” Keaton told GQ of his time playing Bruce Wayne. "And proud of it actually, because I like to prove everybody wrong,” he added. “It's fun for me."

Keaton is currently on the publicity circuit for the sequel to another one of his most iconic films. He reprises the title role in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice , in theaters September 6.