Yesterday, some old quotes from The Batman director Matt Reeves started circulating the 'net and folks got themselves in a bit of a tizzy over whether or not The Batman will be a part of the existing DCEU. Today, the director hopped on twitter to clear things up, revealing that the film will indeed be a part of the existing cinematic universe, it just won't focus on cameos, world-building, and other universe tie-ins. It will be a Batman movie and a Batman movie alone.
"Jeez, what'd I miss, guys...?" Reeves joked on Twitter before explaining, "Just to be clear: Of COURSE Batman will be part of the D.C. Universe. Batman will be BATMAN…" He continued, "In my comments from a while back about not being part of the DCEU, I was talking about The Batman being a story specifically about Batman… not about the others in the Universe. That it wouldn't be filled with cameos servicing other stories — that it would be a BATMAN story."
Back in July, Reeves appeared on The Business podcast and talked briefly about his vision for The Batman. "I have a vision for a way to do something with that character that feels like it resonates with me personally,” he said. "When they approached me, what they said was, 'Look, it’s a standalone. This isn’t part of the Extended Universe." The comments may have been more than a month old, but they gained new life yesterday after reports surfaced Warner Bros. and DC Films developing a new banner to explore their iconic characters outside the existing continuity, first up being a Joker origin movie from The Hangover's Todd Philips, which is planned to star a new actor as the Crown Prince of Crime and exist in a continuity unique from the Justice League and Suicide Squad shared universe.
According to Reeves, The Batman is not intended to be one of those universe-adjacent films, but it's understandable why the film has become a bit of a wild card and a touchy subject in recent months. The film was initially set to be directed by Batman himself Ben Affleck, who also became a favorite in-house filmmaker for Warner Bros. after his Argo oscar success. When Affleck stepped down from the filmmaking duties, citing too heavy a workload for such an intensive project, Reeves was recruited to take over the film. Since then, Batfleck speculation has become the order of the hour with a series of reports causing regular debate over whether or not the actor will not return for the solo film. For his part, Affleck has been consistent in his statements, always expressing a desire to return to the role. Most recently at Comic-Con, where he insisted he was still on board for the role.
Affleck will next don the cowl when Justice League lands in theaters on November 17. The Batman does not have an official release date.
