To me, there is absolutely no question who the "movie" Batman is: it has been and always will be Michael Keaton. Keaton himself seems to agree with that sentiment.
This year, the actor received many positive reviews for his performance in "Birdman," but most comic book fans of a certain era, like myself, consider him the one and only Batman. Starring in both "Batman" and "Batman Returns," Keaton was originally supposed to star in a third film as the Dark Knight...had the studio not made the idiotic decision to replace Tim Burton with Joel Schumacher for "Batman Forever."
However, if you'd like a glimpse at what could have been, io9 has discovered photos of what Keaton's Batsuit for "Batman 3" would have looked like had the film been made the way it should have been made (see above). Designed by José Fernandez, the suit Keaton would have worn is still in the prototype phase in these photos, evidenced by the grey coloring. However, the iconic bat logo is still present on each costume, with some looking more like armor than others.
Keaton's role in "Birdman" allowed Fox Searchlight to make their own reference to his Batman career in November, as the studio actually released a parody trailer for the fictional Birdman Returns that was exceptionally similar to that of Batman Returns.
