When Michael Keaton was first announced as Batman's Bruce Wayne in the late 1980s, the response from comic book fans at the time was not good.
At the time, the actor hadn't really played a character who had, well, anything in common with the Dark Knight and 50,000 fanboys are said to have written to Warner Bros. protesting the casting (think of it as an old-school way of complaining on X).
1989's Batman ended up being a hit and Batman Returns was just as well-received when it followed three years later in 1992. In fact, Keaton is still considered one of the all-time best to don the cape and cowl.
Yesterday Tim Burton was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to mark the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice this weekend. Keaton was there to introduce his longtime collaborator and reflect on his Batman experience.
"He hands me a script and goes, 'Tell me what you think,'" Keaton remarked. "This is after Beetlejuice. After that performance. After that type of movie. He says to the studio, 'I want that guy.' I’ll never understand this why anyone cared."
"The uproar...you would’ve thought we were being invaded. It was unbelievable. The press was going crazy. But he stood by me. The guts it took to stand by that decision will always be appreciated by me."
He added, "What that [movie] spawned...there are a lot of people making a lot of money out there with their superhero movies because of his choice and his vision of what those movies could be, because he changed everything."
This echoes other recent comments from Keaton which saw him say Burton "deserves enormous credit" for changing Hollywood blockbusters with Batman. He later pointed out, "I can’t necessarily say this, but there’s a strong possibility there is no Marvel Universe, there is no DC Universe, without Tim Burton. He was doubted and questioned."
It's true that Batman's importance can't be understated and, last year, Keaton got the chance to reprise the role in The Flash. He was a highlight in a movie which was otherwise entirely forgettable (though Sasha Calle's Supergirl was another scene-stealer).
You can check out the full Walk of Fame ceremony below along with a clip highlighting Keaton's Batman comments.