Batman Movies: 10 Obscure Facts You Never Knew

By Thomas Weller /

9. Fanboys Were Outraged By Michael Keaton's Casting As Batman

When Michael Keaton was approached by director Tim Burton to portray the character of swanky billionaire Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego Batman, the decision was met with great controversy among the comic book fans. This lead to Warner Bros. receiving over 50,000 letters protesting the choice. I asked myself why they protested so much, I personally thought Keaton was a good Batman, perhaps his Bruce Wayne was a little too depressed, but to be fair...his parents are dead. After browsing Michael Keaton€™s Wikipedia page I found this explanation:

€œBurton cast him because he thought that Keaton was the only actor who could believably portray someone who has the kind of darkly obsessive personality that the character demands. Warner Bros. received thousands of letters of complaint by fans commenting that Keaton was the wrong choice to portray Batman, given his prior work in comedies and the fact that he lacked the suave, handsome features and tall, muscular physicality often attributed to the character in the comic books.€

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The reason why Keaton wasn€™t too shocked when he was considered for the role is down to the fact he believed it would be more like the 1960€™s version.