Michael Keaton is Birdman: a Meta Film

Birdman is an upcoming Fox movie starring Michael Keaton. Nothing suspicious there. But what if I told you that the movie was about a washed-up actor who was once famous for playing a masked hero in a hugely popular vigilante movie franchise?

Yep, the movie is a blatant nod to Keaton’s time as Batman in the Tim Burton-produced franchise. Which makes this movie about the most meta film I’ve ever heard of.

For obvious reasons, they couldn’t name the film Batman. So instead of the caped crusader, Keaton’s character, Riggan Thomson, portrayed an avian adventurer, who may or may not be loosely based on Hanna-Barbara’s Birdman. Thomson then falls upon hard times, and must reconcile with his past while trying to produce a Broadway play.

Birdman has snagged itself a star cast, including (aside from the quirky Michael Keaton), Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts, and Zach Galifianakis. Check out the just-released poster and trailer below:

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Yeah, I’ll be seeing this when it comes out.