Michael Keaton Was Reportedly Paid $2 Million For Cameo-Like Role In BATGIRL

Michael Keaton Was Reportedly Paid $2 Million For Cameo-Like Role In BATGIRL

Michael Keaton was expected to appear as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batgirl, which was ultimately canceled. Now, it's been reported that the actor was paid $2 million for his role.

By DanielKlissmman - Oct 23, 2022 10:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Batgirl
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Michael Keaton will return as Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Flash, after playing the character in 1989's Batman and 1992's Batman Returns. Following that, he was set to appear in HBO Max's Batgirl, which starred Leslie Grace (In the Heights) as Barbara Gordon. However, the movie was canceled earlier in 2022.

After the cancellation, The Wrap's Umberto Gonzalez claimed that Batgirl would have depicted Keaton's Batman as being retired and that he wouldn't be in the movie much, describing him as a "pivotal cameo." Now, the actor's salary for the scrapped film has reportedly been revealed.

In an article discussing actor salaries for superhero roles, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Keaton was paid $2 million for his appearance in Batgirl.

Per THR, the actor's role was small, and was described by sources as a "glorified cameo." While that may sound like a high sum for such a role, it makes sense, given Michael Keaton's status in the entertainment industry. The actor is one of Hollywood's most recognizable performers, having crafted a career comprised of large-scale projects like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Morbius, as well as smaller-scale movies, such as Birdman, Spotlight and The Founder.

Thus, his status calls for a large salary, even if he's only on screen for a few minutes. His pay also makes sense when compared to Robert Downey Jr.'s compensation for Spider-Man: Homecoming. Per Variety, the Iron Man star was paid $10 million for approximately 15 minutes of screen time. Homecoming had a reported budget of $175 million. Comparing that and Downey Jr.'s salary to Batgirl's $90 million budget (which reportedly grew from $75 million due to protocols and delays stemming from the pandemic), Keaton's pay seems fitting for the project's scale and his star power. 

Talking to TVLine in September 2022, Keaton was asked about Batgirl's cancellation, to which he stated: "I think it was a business decision; I'm going to assume it was a good one. I really don't know. [...] I don’t follow that that much."

Keaton was supposedly expected to have a big role in the DCEU after his return in The Flash, per a 2020 report from The Hollywood Reporter. Aside from Batgirl, he was also reportedly going to appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Yet, in July 2022, it was revealed that Ben Affleck was set to play Bruce Wayne in the sequel following confusion from test audiences about Keaton's Batman being in the film, casting doubt on his role.

In its report about actors' salaries, THR stated that it's unclear whether or not Keaton's role was indeed cut from The Lost Kingdom. So far, it's unknown if he is still expected to be a prominent figure in DC's big-screen franchise. 

Though the actor's status in Aquaman 2 remains a mystery, he will portray Bruce Wayne in The Flash, set to be released on June 23, 2023. 

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Dredd97
Dredd97 - 10/23/2022, 10:02 AM
Burton is done with Disney. If they absolutely HAVE to do something with Keaton, let the boys cook again. One final Burton/Keaton Batman wouldn't be an awful thing. Unless it is
MasterMix
MasterMix - 10/23/2022, 10:12 AM
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 10/23/2022, 10:12 AM
Imagine if The Flash gets cancelled, and Warner basically paid Keaton dozen of millions for...nothing.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 10/23/2022, 10:18 AM
He still did the work but easiest 2 million Keatons ever made… maybe.
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 10/23/2022, 10:26 AM
It is crazy that they are almost certainly going to lose money on Black Adam's soft performance because of its high budget but decided to reverse pulling the trigger on what would've been (due to Flash getting pushed back a zillion times) Keaton's first return to playing Batman in roughly 30 years
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 10/23/2022, 10:26 AM
Just an incredibly creative fumble of the bag
grif
grif - 10/23/2022, 10:30 AM
lol. hell yeah good for him. money for nothing
TheDpool
TheDpool - 10/23/2022, 10:37 AM
Again, Keaton's return has always seemed too good to be true. I know their sequels but it's hard envisioning Kilmer and Clooneys Batman being the same as his, so for years I wondered what became of Keaton's.

But for him to return in Batgirl and for it to pan? I'd rather wait and see what becomes of his scenes in The Flash. However that turns out.
ElvenKingSlayer
ElvenKingSlayer - 10/23/2022, 10:47 AM
"having crafted a career comprised of large-scale projects like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Morbius"

Morbius? It's not that hard to use IMDB if you wanna know what Keaton done..
FASELI
FASELI - 10/23/2022, 4:14 PM
@ElvenKingSlayer -

Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed. It shows that anyone with limited knowledge can contribute. This article suffers from a lot of filler.
KWilly
KWilly - 10/23/2022, 10:49 AM
Easiest money Keaton has made in his life. And I highly doubt he cares it got canceled lol
Fanmar16
Fanmar16 - 10/23/2022, 10:51 AM
Thing94
Thing94 - 10/23/2022, 10:54 AM
Cash that check! Awesome!
DCasAhobby
DCasAhobby - 10/23/2022, 10:58 AM
DC FANBOYS SCORED HUGE!! WASTING THE RETURN OF KEATON'S BATMAN ON THE CURRENT DCEU WOULD HAVE BEEN AMONGST THE MOST MONUMENTAL [frick] UPS OF ALL TIME.

I had repeatedly said DC was about to waste the once in a life time return of Keaton's Batman. Sitting back in disbelief watching it happen in slow motion. Fourtunetly I was so right, DC ended up sinking lower than any of us could've imagined forcing a quick bail out before Keaton was wasted. Only DC could sink so low a clear money grab cameo can turn into a bad idea.

WB only had one time to bring him back. They could have only done this once. It was almost over... WBDC nearly destroyed EVERYTHING DC this gen. Luckily OG Keaton Batman made it out before he was ruined.

DC fanboys got lucky the depths of DC ability to [frick] up knows no bounds.

Now DC can use his Batman in a competent way. Maybe an HBOMAX series, Batman beyond featuring the OG. Or movie. Who knows point is it's still possible....now.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 10/23/2022, 1:27 PM
@DCasAhobby - I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but The Flash is still on schedule for next year.
DCasAhobby
DCasAhobby - 10/23/2022, 2:59 PM
@ObserverIO - if it comes betting Keaton has been removed. And will be wrote out or replaced with Aafleck like Aquaman. Aquaman removed him, Batgirl was cancelled. WB is removing keaton from this franchise
Origame
Origame - 10/23/2022, 9:20 PM
@DCasAhobby - so you're expecting them to specifically reshoot the movie to remove Keaton? You do realize Keaton is literally the biggest draw of this movie right? And they're trying to salvage this film as best they can?
JFerguson
JFerguson - 10/23/2022, 10:58 AM


I guess we’ll never know now. Heard the movie was like a CW production
Origame
Origame - 10/23/2022, 9:24 PM
@JFerguson - you see the batsuit Keaton was gonna wear? Like it's the one we saw for flash but party city quality.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 10/23/2022, 11:01 AM
Keaton said
HAILHYDRA
HAILHYDRA - 10/23/2022, 11:16 AM
I wonder how much he got paid for this canned movie and that stupid Morbius cameo combined. I should've been a famous actor.
Origame
Origame - 10/23/2022, 9:23 PM
@HAILHYDRA - I mean, yeah. Everyone knows how much money big named actors can get.

You're welcome to try though.

Just be sure to get my latte order right next time I see you.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 10/23/2022, 11:24 AM
To be honest I thought he’d get paid more than that even for a glorified cameo, he is a veteran of the industry and an Oscar nominated actor. I’d think he’d ask for at least 5 million 😮
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