The most anticipated aspect of the 2023 superhero film The Flash wasnt the films titular hero, played by Ezra Miller, but rather the appearance of Michael Keaton, who reprises his iconic Batman role in the movie, as a much older version of the vigilante whom the now 72-year-old actor previously portrayed in the films Batman and Batman Returns. The positive reaction to Keatons appearance in The Flash, for which the films marketing campaign was focused primarily around, is a testament to how much of an enduring, indelible impact his Batman has had on film history and pop culture, even as Keatons Batman films have been increasingly overshadowed over the past 20 years by Christopher Nolans The Dark Knight trilogy.