Ever since Ben Affleck stepped down as director of The Batman, there’s been a tonne of rumours and speculation surrounding The Dark Knight’s next solo movie, as well as Ben Affleck’s continued involvement with the project and the wider DC Extended Universe as a whole.
While Affleck has since committed his future to the DCEU, War for the Planet of the Apes director Reeves has now further stoked the fires of speculation, stating on The Business podcast (via Batman-News) that Warner Bros. is viewing The Batman is a “standalone [that] isn’t part of the extended universe”.
Now, it’s possible that by “standalone”, Warner Bros. is viewing The Batman similar to Shazam, where it will still exist within the DCEU, but tell its own story rather than serving as part of the overarching narrative. However, with news yesterday that Warner Bros. is launching a new non-DCEU division beginning with a Joker origin movie, could it be that The Batman will fall into this category too? And if so, then surely Reeves will have to recast the role?
As Batman-News also points out, the podcast interview with Reeves was conducted by THR’s Kim Masters, who penned the original article back in July stating that Affleck’s future as Batman was in doubt and “it would be unwise to bet against him starring in The Batman“.
UPDATE: THR has posted a story stating that: “Matt Reeves’ The Batman, for example, is intended to not be connected to the Justice League universe but to be set in a different time period and star another actor”, before retracting the comment and adding that: “An earlier version of this story stated that Matt Reeves’ The Batman was part of Warner Bros.’ new label and would star a new actor as Batman, but it is unclear where that project will fall.”
What’s your take on The Batman saga? Are you hoping to see Affleck headlining a trilogy of movies, or would you prefer to see them as standalone features under Warner’s new non-DCEU banner? At what point will this all get too confusing for audiences? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…