Batman Will Be A 'Big Part' Of The New DC Universe, But What Does That Really Mean?
Batman is one of DC's most popular and influential characters, which has meant we've gotten plenty of on-screen adaptations of him over the years. 1989's "Batman" helped to usher in the belief that superhero movies can be more than children's entertainment. While the character's other films have varied in tone throughout the years, the consistent moodiness of the "Batman" brand has been a crucial part of differentiating DC films from those made by Marvel Studios.
However, the current DC film slate is currently in a strange transitional period. In the wake of the DC Extended Universe's official unraveling, DC Studios rose in its place, with new co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran promising yet another cinematic reboot of the brand's characters. What this reboot entails is still largely unknown, but thanks to Gunn's lively social media presence, a few details have been revealed about what in the world this new DC Universe will be like. One such detail is that Batman will apparently continue to be a prominent character in this incoming reboot.
He's a big part of the DCU.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 15, 2022
By itself, this seems pretty obvious –- of course a character as important to the DC brand as Batman would be included in its new cinematic universe! However, it might actually be more complicated than that, as Gunn had previously confirmed that the current Batman, played by Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves' films, won't be this new universe's Batman.
More questions than answers
This certainly sounds like there will be two versions of Batman in two different universes moving forward at DC Studios. Given the critical and commercial acclaim for Reeves' "The Batman," which firmly closed itself off from any wider DC lore, it's not surprising that Gunn and Safran don't want to fix what isn't broken. It's also an extremely smart move to leave the filmmaker alone to build his own universe –- he'll be able to continue working on projects like the "Penguin" series starring Colin Farrell, while Pattinson would be able to explore more independent work outside of the confines of DC without being bogged down by appearing in non-Reeves Bat-projects over the next several years.
However, the fact that the DCU's main Batman evidently won't be Pattinson and Reeves' interpretation makes the future of the character less concrete. Considering that version of Batman is one who's still relatively new to vigilantism, it wouldn't make sense for the DCU's Batman to be younger as well. In order to avoid confusion between the two universes, it's important for the DCU's Batman to be distinct from Reeves' in a big way.
Perhaps Gunn and Safran will pursue a path where the character is a little more experienced, but not as forlorn as Ben Affleck's. Maybe this new Batman won't be Bruce Wayne at all, but maybe someone like Terry McGinnis or Jason Todd. Whatever ends up happening with Batman moving forward, it'll likely end up being a much better decision than making Pattinson the larger universe's definitive version of the character.