Michael Keaton improvised Batman’s craziest line

Michael Keaton has confirmed he was the mastermind behind one of the best lines from 1989’s Batman.

Keaton’s debut as the caped crusader was a pop culture-defining event, foreshadowing superhero mania decades before the MCU boom that’s reshaped the theatrical experience all around the world.

More than 30 years after his first time under the cowl, his Batman Returns in The Flash, teaming up with Barry Allen(s) and Supergirl as they face off against an otherworldly threat: General Zod, ready to terraform the Earth again.

Ahead of the movie’s release, Keaton has been looking back on his earlier two-movie tenure as the dark knight, and he’s spoken about the origins of one of the character’s most iconic lines.

Michael Keaton improvised Batman’s “Let’s get nuts!” line

In a new interview with Empire Magazine as part of a live Q&A, Keaton recalled the back-and-forth over the famous scene, coming as Bruce Wayne and Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale are cornered by Jack Nicholson’s Joker and his goons.

“I don’t think ‘Let’s get nuts’ was in the script, that was me. That scene was never really that good as written, to be honest with you,” he said.

“That was one of the days where we went round and round. I think Kim’s in it, me and Jack, nobody could ever find it. I thought, ‘Okay, pressure’s on, man. Pressure. Is. On.’ I thought he’d probably said, ‘Okay, I’m kind of cornered, I only have one way to go and I’d better let this character know that we’re gonna throw down.’ There was so much figuring it out as we went along.”

Keaton repeats the line in The Flash, which quickly became a divisive topic; some fans were giddy with nostalgia, while others think it undermines Wayne’s character – after all, it was never really a catchphrase, was it? Then again, saying, “I’m Batman” while dressed like Batman is redundant, so who cares?

The Flash runs into theaters on June 16, 2023. You can check out our other coverage of the movie here, more DC content here, and other superhero hubs below:

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