What’s better than one Batman? Two Batman! Ben Affleck will return as Batman in The Flash. The Ezra Miller starring film is set to be released in summer 2022 and it’ll involve him traveling to parallel dimensions, firmly establishing the DC multiverse in film and not just on television. It’s loosely based on the Flashpoint comic event. Affleck and Miller appeared together in those roles in Justice League.

Revealed earlier this year, Michael Keaton will be appearing as Batman as well. Keaton starred in the role in the 1989 Batman and the follow-up Batman Returns. Keaton will have a “substantial” part. Affleck was needed in the film as he helps re-establish that the Flash knows the hero and he acts as a starting point for the adventure.

The film is part of DC’s ongoing strategy to play into their “multiverse.” The concept allows the same character to star in different franchises, even with different actors, as they take place on different Earths.

The first step of the multiverse appeared in DC’s television lineup where originally some of the shows took place on different Earths. In the recent “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” the multiverse was further established into DC’s films and other shows as Batman ’66, Batman 1989, and Ezra Miller’s The Flash all appeared. The DC television universe has its own Flash played by Grant Gustin. It allows DC to say “everything is valid and its all happened.” They can also explore films like Joker and still have them be part of the DC film universe. There’s another Batman franchise in production from director Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattison.

The move by DC and Warner Bros. is the right one as it makes it stand apart from Marvel’s cinematic universe. Where that’s a cohesive world that might have a multiverse, it forces a tighter narrative where films rely on each other. DC and Warner Bros. create a decentralized take where they can release standalone films and take risks.

(via Vanity Fair)