The Batman looks set to introduce a new "Batverse," while over in what's become known as the DC Extended Universe, Michael Keaton will once again be donning the Cape and Cowl. Even though that arguably gives fans the best of both worlds (literally), there are many who would love to see what Matt Reeves' grounded take on those Justice League characters would look like.
Heading down that route might diminish what the filmmaker is going for by taking a deep dive into Gotham City across film and television. That's something Reeves emphasised during a recent interview with Collider when they asked if the Man of Steel could enter his "Batverse."
"It's a high wire act to do a Batman movie, right? The last thing I wanted to do was come in there and feel like I had to do something with the highest degree of difficulty and then also find the ways that it connects to everything else. My thing was, from the beginning, I said, 'Look, I think it's enough to try and just do a Batverse, to do a Batman movie,' and that that's where this begins."
"I suppose it's not impossible to believe that somewhere down the line they could connect to something else, but that was not my interest in this, and it's not my interest in what we would do in follow-ups at the moment, either," he continued. "There are a lot of great characters in the Gotham world and so the idea of leaning into that, that's really my interest right now."
"If suddenly in the Batman world, you discovered that there was an alien that was Superman, there'd be a lot of shock. I mean, people would have to say, oh my God, and maybe that would be the one fantastical element. But to be honest with you, that is not the intention at this point, to figure out how to make that come. I think if that challenge ever presents itself, it would be an exciting one to explore, but I'd have to try and do it through this lens."
It's fascinating to get this sort of insight from Reeves, and it's clear throwing Superman into this world is far from a priority for Reeves. If Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was any indication, the Caped Crusader and Man of Tomorrow sharing the screen isn't always necessarily what's best for these characters and, in the grounded world of The Batman, there may be no room for Kal-El.
There is, however, a good chance we see more characters from the Dark Knight's world show up in the franchise. Robert Pattinson has expressed interest in Robin, though there's no word on what Reeves thinks of potentially adding the Boy Wonder to the world he's creating here.
The Batman is set to be released in theaters on March 4. Check out what producer Dylan Clark had to say about establishing this "Batverse" outside of the DCEU in the player below: