It has been known for several months that both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck are set to appear in the upcoming Flash movie. The movie will serve as a farewell to Affleck’s version of the character and pave the way for a new actor to take on the role. To clarify, this will be the new Batman for HBOMax as Robert Pattinson has his own trilogy in the works over on the big screen.

As of today the word on the street is that the new Bruce Wayne is actually a returning face with Michael Keaton once again taking on the iconic cowl; or will he?

Rumors online have been stating that he would return as the billionaire but would not be on “active duty.” Instead, he would be a futuristic mentor looking after a new hero patroling the streets of Gotham. Yes, one would assume that what we are getting is live-action Batman Beyond; the popular animated classic that has held a cult following over the last couple of decades. However, it would appear that rather than doing that story Keaton will be mentoring Batgirl.

What. The. F****.

I have nothing against the character of Barbara Gordon. If anything I’m excited to see her in live action, and these plans would explain why she was omitted from Birds of Prey as Oracle.

The rumors are frustrating for multiple reasons though. Batman Beyond indeed was one of the most iconic animated shows. Seeing a live action version of this would have made fans go nuts!

The other dissapointment is, with Pattinson in theaters and Keaton on streaming, there would just be no reason to have a third Batman existing in the future multiverse. Essentially, we would never get the opportunity to see the Batman project that Ben Affleck had wanted to make before he departed the movie and the role.

Again, everything depends on the performance of Snyder’s Justice League in March. This is the real determining factor regarding what will be happening on HBOMax in the coming years. The promo tour for the four hour epic is set to begin in early February; likely to kick off with the super bowl.

The movie must do more than trend on Twitter and get high streams with subscribers. It has to attract new subscriptions to the service in order for Warner to even consider allowing the Snyderverse and its characters to recieve any further investment.