By Monday, Barnes backtracked tweeting: 'I was referring to the *one film* that Keaton has been announced as being in, not a set of his own Batman films. If I had info on him beyond The Flash, I would have obviously put it in my article.'
Ezra Miller’s version of The Flash made a cameo in The CW’s The Flash during the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, which confirmed the co-existence of WB’s DC movies and TV shows within the multiverse. The Flash movie will tackle the Flashpoint storyline from DC Comics, which sees the titular character time traveling to change his mother’s death in the past. His actions change the course of history, and he wakes up in an altered timeline where Thomas Wayne (and not Bruce) is Batman, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war with each other.
While it’s unclear how Flashpoint will be adapted to the big screen or how Keaton and Affleck’s characters will factor into the film, it’s possible The Flash will establish both versions of Batman in the DCEU. Reports of Keaton permanently taking over the role from Affleck after the film’s release turned out to be false. That leaves the door open for both actors to continue playing Batman in future DCEU films without it being an issue to the multiverse’s continuity. Both versions are valid and will likely bring something different to the table. At the moment, Affleck doesn’t seem interested in returning to the DCEU after The Flash, and Keaton isn’t getting his own set of Batman movies on the side.
Theoretically, however, Affleck could reprise his role while Keaton plays another Earth’s Batman. There’s no telling what’s in store for the future of the Dark Knight in all his forms. Either way, the fact there will be two versions of the DCEU Batman at the same time is pretty cool. Keaton and Affleck bring such unique personalities to the role and their individual takes on the same character will thankfully not lead to the erasure of the other. The storytelling possibilities are endless.