I’m not sure there’s ever been a movie that has attracted as much rumour and speculation as Warner Bros.’ planned Dark Knight solo movie The Batman.
Ben Affleck’s involvement as director was under question from virtually the moment he was announced as taking the reins, and from the moment he vacated the director’s chair, all of the talk has been about whether he’ll remain in the cape and cowl as Matt Reeves delivers his take on the iconic crime-fighter.
If previous reports are to be believed, Affleck – who has confirmed that he is yet to sign on for the solo movie – is keen to “segue out” of the role (with talk of him doing so via an appearance in Flashpoint), while Reeves is looking at the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Jon Hamm as potential replacements.
Well, now we have another twist in the tale, as Batman-on-Film is claiming that The Batman will in fact be a standalone movie, separate from the wider DC Extended Universe, and could well be released under Warner’s as-yet-unnamed DC banner which has a similarly standalone Joker origin movie in development. Affleck would then get a “last hurrah” with an appearance in Flashpoint, or perhaps even Suicide Squad 2.
It should be pointed out that this runs counter to comments from Reeves himself back in August, as well as a recent report which said the movie would take place within the DCEU with or without Affleck’s involvement.
So, things all seem a bit up in the air at the moment with The Batman (which has been the case throughout its entire development, in all honesty), but with DC Films bringing in a new boss as part of its post-Justice League “retooling”, hopefully it won’t be too long before we get some official clarification on Warner’s future DC plans.
Originally published January 14, 2018. Updated April 18, 2018.
