Leave it to Batman to save the Oscars from becoming a snooze-fest of speeches.
Batman, in the form of star actor Michael Keaton, returned briefly at the Oscars for one of the more viral moments at the Oscars.
In a clip from the Academy Awards posted to X, presenters Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito riffed about Batman.
“Arnold and I are presenting tonight together for a very obvious reason,” DeVito said.
“We’ve both tried to kill Batman!” Schwarzenegger revealed to applause.
Of note, DeVito portrayed the Batman villain Penguin opposite of Keaton in the 1992 film “Batman Returns.”
Schwarzenegger, interestingly, never shared screentime with Keaton’s Batman. The former California governor portrayed Mr. Freeze against George Clooney’s Batman in 1997’s “Batman and Robin.”
As they commiserated about how they were defeated, DeVito yelped, “He threw me out a window!”
“There he is. He’s right here. He’s right there. Look!” DeVito hollered.
Are you a Batman fan?
“Twins” co-stars and former Batman villains Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito jokingly berate Michael Keaton from the #Oscars stage. https://t.co/UNgGySGz3r pic.twitter.com/bPLTrLlcNk
— Variety (@Variety) March 11, 2024
Keaton, who had been a presenter, was in the audience watching the two impassively.
“You have a lot of nerve to show your face around here,” Schwarzenegger said.
Without a facial reaction, Keaton beckoned the two in a “bring it on” gesture as the crowd roared its approval.
Michael Keaton would be perfect as the older Bruce Wayne from Batman Beyond. pic.twitter.com/jW2FLsj9Ei
— Steve Sellers (@Shadewing) March 11, 2024
Keaton last played Batman in the 2023 film “The Flash.”
Keaton’s return as Batman was one of those woulda-shoulda-coulda moments that hinged on the performance of “The Flash,” according to a report.
Director Kevin Smith said that the son of Batman producer Michael Uslan indicated there was interest, according to a 2023 report from ComicBook.com.
Michael Keaton hasn’t closed the door completely on the possibility of returning to the role of Batman: “Never say never.” pic.twitter.com/MwbTZR3JKi
— ComicBook.com (@ComicBook) March 11, 2024
Speaking of “The Flash,” Smith said, “I was hoping that it did better than it did because Michael Uslan’s kid said that…if the movie did as well as ‘The Batman’ – ‘The Batman’ opened at $130 million — one of the next Batman movies they’re going to make is ‘Batman Beyond’ with Michael Keaton.”
“So I was like, ‘Oh, my God, now I hope this movie makes a lot of money,’” he said, wishing for a reality that never took place.
