The Batman
I was wondering what exactly may have happened when the new DCU was formed and it carved out the well-received Matt Reeves film, The Batman, which would not be a part of it. While perhaps no Dark Knight, critics liked it, fans liked it, everyone was impressed with Pattinson’s turn as a young Bruce/Batman. It already had a sequel greenlight, and at least one Penguin-based HBO show planned.
So what happened? It turns out that the offer was made, and rejected.
Replying to a fan on Threads who asked why Reeves’ Batman wasn’t being included in the DCU, Gunn revealed that this wasn’t something that wasn’t “allowed,” but instead “it’s Matt’s choice, and we respect that.”
That’s a bit surprising, and the first indicator we’ve heard that an existing DC project was potentially going to be absorbed into the DCU years after it was released. That would have in effect made The Batman the first official movie in the DCU. Maybe. Things get a bit weird when we put people like Peacemaker and Amanda Waller in the mix, who were both in Gunn’s DCEU canon Suicide Squad and Peacemaker TV show. But The Batman, which did not involve Gunn, is a different case.
Instead, Gunn has previously announced that there will be a separate Batman who will arrive in The Brave and The Bold, which will feature not just a new, non-Pattinson Bruce, but the first realization of Damian Wayne in a film, as a “father and son” story based on Grant Morrison’s comic source material. In June, Variety reported that The Flash director Andy Muschietti had been hired to direct the film, a movie which Gunn said he absolutely loved. It also was the biggest superhero bomb of all time, losing $200 million for Warner Bros, so it’s unclear if anything…may have changed as a result of that.
The Batman
Meanwhile, The Batman 2 is still happening, and the Penguin show with Colin Farrell has resumed production after the writers and actors strikes have ended. The Batman 2 is supposed to be released on October 3, 2025, which will be after Gunn’s DCU-started Superman Legacy arrives in July 2025. So that will feel a bit odd.
There’s also the looming threat of Warner Bros. coming apart at the seams before any of this is fully realized. Financial analysis platform Macroaxis recently offered their opinion that WB Discovery currently has a 60% chance of going bankrupt given its current debt load and other factors.
After The Batman 2 and The Penguin, I do wonder how long the “Reevesverse” will continue in parallel to the DCU as one of the so-called “Elseworlds” projects which also contain things like Joker and its coming sequel (which Gunn says he offered “notes” about). I guess we’ll find out, but it’s an interesting reveal to learn how this all happened, and how it could have been David Cornswet and Robert Pattinson as the DCU’s Superman and Batman. This time perhaps not fighting each other.
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