Michael Keaton Reveals An Iconic Line From Tim Burton’s Batman Was Actually Improvised

Michael Keaton in Batman
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Tim Burton’s 1989 movie Batman is widely seen as the film that started it all when it comes to the world of comic book movies that we live in today. The film has numerous iconic moments and lines of dialogue that fans still reference today, but one of them, which gets referenced in The Flash movie as well, wasn’t actually in the script and was improvised by Michael Keaton himself.

Speaking with Empire, Michael Keaton says that “Let’s get nuts,” Keaton’s famous line to Jack Nicolson’s Joker, was a line that wasn’t in the initial script. Keaton says that a lot of Batman was actually found on the set, and that included the scene where Bruce Wayne has to deal with the Joker in Vicky Vale’s apartment. Keaton indicates that a lot of different things were tried to make the scene work. In the end, he found the solution. The actor explained…

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. 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.

They certainly figured out that scene. Keaton’s attempt to “out crazy” the Joker has become one of the more well-known scenes in the film, to the point that the iconic line is referenced in The Flash trailer, which will see the actor return to the role of Batman after decades. In The Flash, the line seems to be used as a sort of call-to-action moment, though in the original Batman, the scene is quite different. 

Keaton’s Batman in The Flash cast is perhaps the major selling point of the new Flash movie, as seeing the actor return to the character is a big deal for those of us that grew up with him as the big-screen Batman. The movie will also feature Ben Affleck’s version of the character. Beyond that, it’s anybody’s guess. What secrets this movie is still hiding, and what it may mean for the forthcoming newly relaunched DCU, is anybody’s guess. We’ll “get nuts” with Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne once again when The Flash arrives in theaters on June 16. 

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.