Flying onto our screens for the first time since 1992’s Batman Returns, Michael Keaton’s appearance in The Flash trailer was a delight to longtime DC fans, but not a surprise to anyone covering The Flash’s long and exhausting development process. For years, there was speculation on how intensive Keaton’s involvement would be for the movie that now serves as the reset for the whole DCU. Gauging from the trailer, it seems the caped crusader that audiences fell in love with in the late 80s will have a bigger role than fans could’ve dreamed of.

With so many potential projects now in the air for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s cinematic universe, it’s natural to wonder what Keaton’s future will be after his return as Batman. In an interview with Sirius XM about his decision to come back, the veteran actor had this to say about putting on the black rubber suit after all these years.

“I’ve embraced it. I mean why would you not? And it’s the right time after all this… There were murmurs. I got a call from Warner Bros. They wanted to talk to me about something [with] hints of ‘Batman’. I mean it has to be good. There’s no reason to do it if it’s not good… So [The Flash is] really good. I just jumped in and had fun. Why would you not?”

Keaton echoes sentiments that fans of his iteration of Bruce Wayne have shared for many years now. However, for the last three decades, despite the actor’s willingness to get back to the role, many projects including his character have been canceled or delayed time and time again. In a culture of multiverse crossovers, it’s a wonder why it’s taken so long for Keaton’s Dark Knight to say the famous and simple line, “I’m Batman.”

Tim Burton’s Batman Continues

Warner Bros

Tim Burton abandoned the soon-to-be third project in his planned gothic Batman trilogy, which later became Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin without his involvement. Burton took Keaton, who didn’t wish to work with another director on the project, with him. Despite this, there was extensive work on the continuation of where Bruce Wayne went after Batman Returns. Reportedly focusing on evolving the storyline between Wayne and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selena Kyle, the film would elaborate on themes this dynamic brought to the surface previously, including the morality of being a hero in such a corrupt city like Gotham.

Additionally, in a movie with a lot of ambition, the third Burton film would have featured Robin Williams as The Riddler, which would have been a guaranteed success, as well as Marlon Wayans in one of his first dramatic roles as this universe’s iteration of Robin. Considering this, with Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent turning into the terrifying Two-Face, this continuation would have been a grand successor to the Keaton iteration and would have built on seemingly every aspect of the character. Looking at simply the plans of the movie, it’s hard to see what went wrong.

The obstacle that prevented this film’s existence, was Warner Bros. feeling that Burton’s films were too dark, because they were scaring those funding the project, advertisers like McDonald’s. Burton, who famously a distinctly dark vision, felt that his direction and the demand to make his films more kid-friendly were not congruent with one another. In a city full of so many frightening villains, it seems the one thing that prevented more of Keaton’s Batman at the time was Happy Meals.

Related: Tim Burton’s Batman Gets a Modern Day Trailer

Batgirl and Batman Beyond

Warner Bros.

The cancelation of the now-fabled Batgirl robbed DC’s audience of Brendan Fraser’s Firefly )during the Brenaissance no less) and Leslie Grace’s interpretation of what would have been the first solo venture for Barbara Gordon. Not only that, it was also a lost opportunity for fans to see Keaton’s caped crusader. In Instagram posts teasing his return, Keaton expressed his excitement to show up in Gordon’s solo outing, which would have been a light reintroduction to the character for audiences.

Keaton’s Batman was rumored to be a distant mentor figure that offered advice in a few crucial moments in the movie. All of this would have culminated in Grace’s Barbara Gordon and Keaton’s Batman standing upon a building, looking down at Gotham. The change-ups at Warner Bros left this movie being written off as a tax credit and removing the possibility of this story being seen by audiences. Another project affected by studio changes behind the scene was the now-canceled adaptation of Batman Beyond.

After Gunn and Safran were appointed as heads of the DCU, many projects in development at the studio were either shifted or canceled altogether. One of these projects was a “true continuation” of the Burton’s Batman trilogy, Batman Beyond. Reportedly focusing on Bruce’s romance that was to be included in Batman Continues, the film would have seen Keaton in his largest presence in the role since 1992. The good news with this particular project is that since the film wasn’t officially announced, there’s still an opportunity for continued development in the new DCU. Not doing the story would be a missed opportunity, given Keaton’s history and the stage of life his character would be in now.

Will Batman Return?

Warner Bros. Pictures

With a cameo of Keaton’s Batman being added and then removed in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, it seems that this version of the character has a lot of excitement from fans, but Warner Bros. is finding trouble placing where such a beloved interpretation of The Dark Knight would go. Before constant production changes deter the willing actor from showing up in future projects when they can’t be replaced, DC should make a long-term plan for Keaton’s involvement.

Now that there is a place for stories that don’t directly contribute to the mainline DCU, titled DC Elseworlds, there is little reason to keep Keaton’s Batman in the vault or in constant development. To paraphrase the actor depicting Batman; if it’s good, why not?