Much has been said about Robert Pattinson's Batman becoming the DCU's Dark Knight. That will require a great deal of compromise on the parts of both James Gunn and Matt Reeves, though the former recently confirmed the idea has been discussed inside DC Studios.
In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Golden Globes red carpet this weekend, The Batman 2 director Matt Reeves was quizzed on Gunn's comments and certainly didn't dismiss the notion of bringing his franchise into the DCU.
"Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it really comes down to whether or not it makes sense," the filmmaker started. "What's been great is there was a story that I wanted to tell that we're calling The Epic Crime Saga which is the thrust of what we wanted to do. It's been important to me to be able to play that out. James and Peter have been really, really great about that and they're letting us do that."
"What the future brings, I can't really tell you," Reeves added. "I have no idea right now except that my head is down now about getting The Batman Part II shooting and to make it something special which is, of course, the most important thing."
Pushed on whether he thinks Pattinson's Bruce Wayne will eventually join the DCU, a flustered Reeves replied, "I don't know. We'll have to see where that goes."
Is it happening? It feels like it is but until either Gunn or Reeves flat-out deny or debunk the speculation, it's going to continue and the backlash to it not becoming a reality would be sizeable.
There isn't necessarily anything in The Batman to stop it from retroactively becoming the first DCU movie, though how willing Pattinson is to potentially spend the next decade showing up in all manner of crossovers is hard to say. However, Batman doesn't have to be a member of the Justice League in this new reality (we've seen plenty of iterations of the team without him).
Andy Muschietti was announced as The Brave and the Bold's director right before The Flash raced into theaters last June. Gunn called it one of the best superhero movies ever, but audiences disagreed. Reviews were so-so and the visual effects are still being ridiculed over a year-and-a-half later.
The Flash was also a box office bomb and Muschietti helming DC Studios' Batman reboot feels equivalent to Madame Web director SJ Clarkson being tapped to helm Spider-Man 4 or entrusting Nia DaCosta with Avengers: Secret Wars after The Marvels struggled. It doesn't add up.
Plus, how can any Batman live up to Pattinson's version? He's already a fan favourite and any actor who has to share the spotlight with him will surely struggle. The downside is that this means we don't get the Batman and Robin story Gunn promised in January 2023.
If Pattinson's Caped Crusader does join the DCU, it could explain why Reeves is taking such a long time to get the screenplay right as some sweeping changes will surely be needed to even loosely connect The Batman to the DCU.
The Batman 2 will be released in theaters on October 1, 2027.