Fans have always sought out movie memorabilia for the satisfaction of owning a part of pop culture history. Be the prop insignificant or something as grandiose as the Batmobile, bids will accrue. One prop that's been elusive and a grand prize to comic book fans everywhere are the Air Jordan VI's worn by Michael Keaton in Batman Returns.
In 1989's Batman, Nike came in to design a pair of Air Jordans for the Caped Crusader. Warner Bros. grafted on accents to make the basketball-style shoes more akin to boots. They replicated the design for Batman Returns, except for that movie, the design team crafted boot collars and shin guards to go along with the base shoe.
What's interesting is where the shoes wound up after production wrapped. They were seemingly lost to dealers over the years and eventually came up on an eBay auction. And while that pair goes from owner to owner, at least one other pair is in a celebrity's collection.
Michael Keaton appeared on a fan's podcast to talk all things Batman, going back to his beginnings. During the interview, the Beetlejuice actor spoke about the illustrious Air Jordan VI's from the movie, confirming that Nike came in and designed them just for the production. He concluded his statement by saying he has the boots "stashed away." Such a disclosure would be a massive reveal since memorabilia seekers have focused entirely too much on the 1989 pair when Keaton had the more refined kicks from Batman Returns in his collection.
Sadly, the pricing doesn't sound like they're all that highly sought after. The 2017 auction only got up to $2500—a small sum for a piece of cinematic memorabilia. Perhaps the price is due to only one shoe going up for sale.
As for the pair in Keaton's collection—they may be up for sale, too. He joked about selling them to his podcast host, all in jest, but who's to say Keaton wasn't semi-serious? He'll presumably request a much higher sum than a measly $2500. The fact that they've been in Keaton's possession this whole time would also increase their value. Props gain even more acclaim when a famous person/celebrity owns them.
If we were to estimate the shoe's potential market value, they'd probably be in the twenty-to-thirty-thousand-dollar range. A pair from the 1989 Batman movie went on sale in 2022 for around the same price. As long as they're still in fair condition, they would haul in a fair amount.
Batman (1989) and Batman Returns are currently streaming on MAX.