While backstage drama, rumour and speculation seems to be par for the course for the DC Extended Universe, one project that has really taken it to the extreme is the planned Dark Knight solo movie The Batman.
From the moment it was first announced, we had incessant speculation over Ben Affleck’s status as director, until it was announced that he’d vacated the director’s chair and would be succeeded by Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes).
Since then, attention has turned to Affleck’s status as the Caped Crusader, with the actor himself revealing that he’s yet to sign on the dotted line, and the rumour mill churning out the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Jon Hamm as his potential replacement should he walk from the DCEU.
Recent reports have even claimed that Reeves is ready to exit the project, although the filmmaker moved quickly to debunk those rumours.
Well, it seems we may have to suffer through another year or so of speculation, as Heroic Hollywood is reporting that production on The Batman is not expected to get underway until 2019, meaning that we’ll probably not be seeing the movie until 2020 or 2021.
SEE ALSO: J.K. Simmons still hoping for Commissioner Gordon return in The Batman
The news isn’t really too surprising considering that Warner Bros. has Shazam in production at present, and Wonder Woman 2, Suicide Squad 2 and the non-DCEU Joker origin movie all scheduled to start filming this year. Flashpoint is also thought to be aiming for a late 2018 / early 2019 start date.
Warner’s future DC plans are a little up in the air at present. We know that Aquaman is arriving in December, followed by Shazam and Wonder Woman 2 in 2019. The studio still has Cyborg and Green Lantern Corps dated for 2020, while the likes of Suicide Squad 2, Flashpoint and The Joker are all undated.
On top of that, the studio has a host of DC movies in development. Just this week it was announced that Ava DuVernay is working on a New Gods movie, which joins the likes of – take a deep breath here – Batgirl, Birds of Prey, Black Adam, Booster Gold, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Gotham City Sirens, Harley Quinn, Harley Quinn and The Joker, Justice League Dark, Lobo, Man of Steel 2, and Nightwing.
We’re either going to start getting four or five DC movies a year, or a lot of those are never going to see the light of day…
Originally published March 18, 2018. Updated December 3, 2022.
