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Yes, it's very odd, but extremely pleasing, to me that Batman Returns appears to be trending right now.

There have been a raft of podcasts, commentaries and YouTube videos on the film lately (so much so, I can't keep up), and whilst one might customarily expect more attention on the film during the Christmas season, Returns seems to have generated particular attention this Christmas.

There are a number of possible factors, like, as you say, Keaton's mooted return, but the current lockdown/quarantine has encouraged many people to rediscover old films.  Plus, I wonder if Wonder Woman 1984 has had an impact, as I believe, from many of the early reviews and audience responses, that there are a few shared tropes and themes between the films.

Anyway, it's a pleasant surprise for the end of an otherwise fairly crummy year.

post deleted for violating site rules. - ral

The production has apparently halted for the time being because Robert Pattinson has tested for COVID-19: https://www.superherohype.com/movies/486018-the-batman-halts-shooting-after-crew-member-tests-positive-for-covid-19

Dammit 2020.  When are you going to finally give us all a break?

But putting that aside, it's such a sad way for Boseman to go, at such a young age. Despite my criticism of the media's overhypying, I still regard Black Panther as an entertaining film and by far one of the few Phase Three films worth watching. Boseman had such grace when playing T'Challa.

RIP

I 100% concur with these words.

I woke up this morning to read about Chadwick Boseman's death at the young age of 43, and I'm utterly devastated by this news.  Although I don't think Black Panther reinvented the wheel as far as superhero films go, and so maybe a lot of its huge praise is attributable more to its cultural significance than its success as a piece of cinema, it is still, as The Laughing Fish says, a very worthwhile movie, and arguably one of the best within the entire MCU canon.

Irrespective of that, Boseman's performance as T'Challa across the four films in which he appeared, particularly his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, is one of the most humane and empathetic within the franchise, and I don't think it's hyperbole to say that Boseman is the closest any actor has to projecting the nobility, wisdom and compassion of a live-action superhero, since Christopher Reeve.

From all the interviews and red carpet footage I've seen of Boseman, he also came across as a likeable, humble and unassuming kind of guy.  It's a real blow to lose such a charismatic figure just as his career was kicking up such steam (he was brilliant in this year's Da Five Bloods, as another noble and heroic character).

Rest in Peace

Also, I'd hope that he'd apply his later 'no-kill' policy to all the thugs and goons he killed in Batman 89 and Batman Returns, like The Strong Man with the bomb and the Fire Eater he set on fire, not to mention The Joker henchmen he machinegunned during the 200th celebration festival.

Why?

Thank you for asking.

I only mean that if Batman has adapted a no-kill policy and sworn off the type of murderous brutality he had shown villains in the past, he may have some remorse and regrets over some of his past kills.

I don't say that as one of those people who are massively critical of Keaton's Batman's tendency to kill, but it would be an interesting way of addressing some of those criticisms.

Or, or or, check this out: Flash messes up the Burtonverse timeline which means The Joker avoids his death scene altogether, rather than being resurrected.

True, and to which would give the CW Earth-89 cameo with Knox some creedence in the grand scheme of things with that "Batman captures the Joker again" newspaper headline...

I'd hope that if Batman had the capability, with The Flash, to alter time, he'd rectify the mistakes that led to the lovely Ice Princess falling to her death (maybe he could also stop Shreck pushing Selina out of a window, but since that would prevent her becoming Catwoman, maybe that's not such a great idea from a story POV - then again, if Selina doesn't become Catwoman, it's more likely she becomes the 'socialite' that is referred to in the newspaper headline who marries Bruce Wayne).

Also, I'd hope that he'd apply his later 'no-kill' policy to all the thugs and goons he killed in Batman 89 and Batman Returns, like The Strong Man with the bomb and the Fire Eater he set on fire, not to mention The Joker henchmen he machinegunned during the 200th celebration festival.

Here's The Batman trailer (or at least the audio) superimposed over footage from the Burton/Schumacher films.

I thought this was very clever, and I'm impressed at how quickly the creator was able to edit this footage together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHXJ0LUHHvA

Can anyone here who knows more about Flashpoint or The Flash's abilities in general, tell me what capacity does The Flash have in terms of time-travel, and in view of the vast improvements in de-aging CGI, would The Flash be able to insert himself in the action of various past Batman films, and possibly alter their narratives?

As an aside, I am a huge fan of Andy Muschietti's It films, especially the first episode, and I loved the background reference to Batman 89 appearing on the local theater marquee (the summer of 89, good times indeed, even if I was too young to see Batman 89 on the big screen), but I always thought it was a missed opportunity not to have a sequence with Pennywise emerging from one of the films to attack a member of the Losers Club (say Richie, the character who appears to most frequent the local theater).  Maybe it would have been impossible to sign-off Jack Nicholson's permission, but seeing as It was made by Warner Bros Studios (notice that all three films that appear on the theater marquee, Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, and Nightmare on Elm Street 5, were made by WB or its subsidiary, New Line), I always thought it would have been amazing, not to mention terrifying, to watch The Joker transform into another clown, Pennywise, and begin to taunt Richie whilst he is watching Batman 89 for the umpteenth time.

Spoiler for the riddle: "He Lies Still"

Assuming Wright isn't in the show which is supposedly a take on Batman: Year One, perhaps Gordon is a new arrival/transfer to Gotham PD, when he appears in The Batman (just as Gordon was in Miller's Batman: Year One graphic novel). 

Batman immediately gravitates towards Gordon as a potential liaison, because as a new arrival, he can be pretty sure that Gordon is one of the few senior officers who isn't tarnished with the corruption that has already infected its long-serving officers (including Commissioner Pete Savage and Chief Mackenzie Block, who both briefly appear in the trailer, during what looks like some type of press conference scene).  Perhaps the show's default protagonist is one of the few idealistic officers on the force prior to Gordon's arrival, and perhaps the show ends with his demise (likely at the hands of his corrupt colleagues).

All of this just spit-balling, of course, but it would make sense of how a Gotham PD show might work without either Wright or Pattinson making any significant, or indeed any, appearances (other than perhaps a few officers making references to the offscreen Batman - or one of Pattinson's stand-ins dressed as Batman and seen only from a distance).