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Michael Keaton seems to reliving the ‘80s at this point as he will reprise his legendary role in Tim Burton’s upcoming film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The actor returned as Batman last year in the DCEU’s The Flash, where he was largely considered to be the best part of the box-office disaster.
Keaton’s Batman will forever be legendary as he depicted a darker and edgier Bruce Wayne, who was not just a cool superhero, but a traumatized man trying to make sense of the world. While he and Tim Burton changed superhero films forever, the actor was reportedly extremely uncomfortable while wearing the suit as it was too cramped.
Michael Keaton Felt He Could Not Get Through Making Batman Because Of The Suit
Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson in Batman | Credits: Warner Bros.Tim Burton and Michael Keaton gave a different superhero film when they made the 1989 blockbuster Batman. A box office success, the film was noted for its impact on comic book films as a whole due to its merchandising potential and giving a more serious and dark flavor to the often kid-friendly genre.
While Keaton’s casting was initially dismissed by fans, he proved everyone wrong with his performance as a traumatized Bruce Wayne, dealing with his grief and mental illness by fighting crime dressed as a bat. Jack Nicholson’s performance as the Joker has also been a part of pop culture history and has inspired all future Joker performances.
A still from Batman | Credits: Warner Bros.Though Keaton has become an iconic part of Hollywood history for Batman, he reportedly felt he could never get through production. The reason for his doubts was because of his suit which he reportedly was crammed into because the crew was still figuring it out. Talking about the first day of filming to People, he said,
It took a long time to get in and…I’m claustrophobic. So I get into this thing, I zip it up, and I go, ‘I’m never gonna make it. I’m never gonna make it’. Because when you get in it’s all closed up and you can’t hear and you can actually see only a little bit…I just barely go through the process of making the mold for the suit.
Costume designer Bob Ringwood reportedly created 28 different suits for Keaton and his stunt doubles and it reportedly took two-and-a-half hours to get into it. The suit also reportedly cost $250,000 (via AMC TV).
Michael Keaton Used The Discomfort Of The Suit For His Performance As A Lonely Bruce Wayne
Michael Keaton in Batman | Credits: Warner Bros.Tim Burton’s Batman was noted for its dark and gothic depiction of Gotham and the Joker. Until then, the superhero genre was not taken that seriously by studios and was usually thought to be aimed at children. However, by showing a more psychological side to both the Joker and Michael Keaton’s Batman, Burton brought a new layer to the superhero.
While Keaton was extremely uncomfortable with his suit, he reportedly used the feeling to get right into the mood of the character. He said,
I said to myself, ‘This is perfect for this guy….this makes me feel really solitary.’…because Bruce Wayne was a deep dude. And was a very solitary person, very wounded and deep and introspective…kind of lived alone in his big old, damp, cold house, and wasn’t in any kind of relationship… I thought, ‘That’s what you do’.
He mentioned that he used the condition he was put in for the character as it put him in the perfect mood for it.
Batman is currently available to stream on Max.
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