Audiences everywhere are still reveling in the multiverse high provided by Jon Watts' Spider-Man: No Way Home, and recognizing that energy only makes us more excited for Andy Muschietti's The Flash. Like the Marvel movie, the upcoming DC blockbuster is going to be doing a bit of canon blending when it arrives next year, as Ezra Miller and Ben Affleck are set to star alongside Michael Keaton – who is reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the first time since 1992's Batman Returns.
Eager as we are to see that happen, it does enhance audience curiosity. Will Keaton be the only prior live-action Caped Crusader to be in the movie? Or could the production bring back, for example, George Clooney's version from Batman & Robin?
This very question was recently posed to Ben Affleck during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as the show's titular host went scoop digging about The Flash solo film. Affleck just recently worked with George Clooney on the new drama The Tender Bar, and Kimmel inquired about the possibility of Clooney being in the new DC movie – adding that Clooney would probably leak the information if they were in switched positions. Affleck responded,
He definitely would [blow the secret about me being in the movie]. Which is why I can tell you no, I don't believe... If he is, he hasn't told me. Maybe he thinks I'm a leak.
Given the notorious reception of Batman & Robin, I feel inclined to believe that George Clooney is not going to appear in The Flash – but it's also certainly possible that George Clooney is actually in The Flash and Ben Affleck is just lying on his behalf here (after all, we've heard a lot of fibs recently from actors hiding their secret roles in big films).
Another possibility is that the information is being kept compartmentalized. While George Clooney may actually be in The Flash, that may be a detail about the production of which Ben Affleck is totally unaware. Not only has it become common for actors in massive movies to not get full versions of the script, but Affleck also admitted on the talk show that he didn't actually spend any time with Michael Keaton on the set of the film. The actor/director added,
It's possible. He may be very guarded. As far as I know, he doesn't want to return to that level height of cowl ears. But I don't believe he's in the Flash movie. Although I didn't even see Michael Keaton, so maybe…
As far as Ben Affleck knows, George Clooney won't be in The Flash, but we won't actually know for sure until November 4, 2022, which is the release date for the upcoming blockbuster. It will be the fourth of five (yes, five) DC movies hitting theaters in the next year, with the other titles including Matt Reeves' The Batman, the animated DC League Of Super Pets, Jaume Collet-Serra's Black Adam, and James Wan's Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom.
You can learn about the full slate by heading over to our Upcoming DC Movies guide, and for a look at everything that is set to come out next year, check out our 2022 Movie Release Calendar.
