Michael Keaton Wanted ‘Batman Begins’ To Be An Origin Story

Michael Keaton, who portrayed Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s Batman films, said in a recent interview that he wanted the third installment of the series to be an origin story.

Keaton and Burton were both slated to return for Batman Begins, the third entry in the dark and brooding franchise. According to Worst Previews, Keaton and the studio butted heads over where the story should head next.

While Warner Bros. wanted something a bit more family friendly following Burton’s violent Batman Returns, Keaton was more interested in continuing the storyline in the same vein as the first two films.

Keaton said during a recent WTF with Marc Maron podcast:

“You look at where he [Nolan] went, which is exactly what I wanted to do when I was having meetings about the third one. I said you want to see how this guy started. We’ve got a chance here to fix whatever we kind of maybe went off. This could be brilliant. Didn’t want to do it, so I didn’t want to do it.”

Comic Book Movie explains that Michael Keaton has yet to see all three films in director Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. However, what he has seen has certainly left a mark on the man who was once Bruce Wayne.

Keaton said the recent Batman films:

“The guy who’s doing them now, Chris Nolan, he’s so talented, it’s crazy. But I say that like I’ve seen them, and I actually haven’t. I didn’t even see much of the second one that I did.”

Next up for Michael Keaton is director Jose Padilha’s RoboCop remake with Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jay Baruchel. Unless MGM decides to shift the movie around again, the film will open in theaters on February 7, 2014.

What do you think about Michael Keaton and his original vision for Batman Begins?