Hollywood's former Batman, Michael Keaton, would reprise the superhero role "in a heartbeat" if director Tim Burton agreed to return.

The actor first played the Caped Crusader in 1989 blockbuster Batman and reprized the role in 1992 follow-up Batman Returns, both directed by Burton.

Keaton has now revealed he would only consider stepping back into costume if he could work with Burton.

When asked by America's Entertainment Weekly magazine if he would ever return to the role of Batman, Keaton replies, "If it was Tim Burton directing? In a heartbeat. Tim, in the movies, really invented the whole dark superhero thing. He started everything, and some of the guys who have done these movies since then don't say that, and they're wrong."

Keaton recently shocked fans when he revealed he has not watched Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, which featured Christian Bale in the lead role, saying, "Chris Nolan is great, but I've never seen any of the Batman movies all the way through. I know they're good. I just have zero interest in those kinds of movies."