As is known, director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran have been in charge of Hollywood studio Warner in terms of DC for a few weeks now. They are responsible for all DC Comics adaptations, be it movies, series or video games. And above all, they want to finally establish a great cohesive universe. There should only be a few exceptions, namely projects outside of that. In addition to the “Joker” movies, “The Batman” and its upcoming sequel were also mentioned here. But maybe it’s very different with the Dark Knight.
The renowned magazine now reports that a “very well-placed source” has informed them that Gunn and Safran are considering by Robert Pattinson to include Batman in their universe. He may well be the new Batman in the so-called DCU – and the break from the previous so-called Snyderverse to Ben Affleck’s Batman is more than obvious.
In this context, the old saying of James Gunn is given a new interpretation. After announcing his new position, he revealed that “The Batman” director Matt Reeves was one of the first people he called. At that point the focus was wanting to calm him down and tell him he could continue working on “The Batman 2”. But maybe he also wanted to discuss with him how this Batman fits together with Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Co. (in any incarnation).
DC faces a dilemma: It’s going to hurt!
There’s plenty of speculation and rumors about DC’s future right now. Among other things, it has already been reported that Jason Momoa’s days as Aquaman are numbered. now reports that even before Gunn and Safran started, Warner officials slashed the budget for reshoots for “Aquaman 2” director James Wan. Although this happened because the film with a budget of $ 205 million was already well above the originally planned costs, it can of course also be interpreted as a sign of a lack of confidence in the future of the franchise around the king of Atlantis.
Clearly, DC and Warner are making decisions that hurt. Gunn recently made that clear when he responded to the many rumors about the end of “Wonder Woman 3” or Henry Cavill’s Superman by stating that you can’t and don’t want to please everyone.
But all this can hurt not only the fans, who may have to say goodbye to popular stars in previous roles, or the creative people who cannot continue planned projects, but also Warner himself. Warner and comics giant DC are currently grappling with the problem of “Shazam! 2“,”the flash“,”Blue beetle” and “aquarius 2Numerous films appear that predate Gunn and Safran.
It is more than a question of whether these films all fit into the grand plan of the two new masterminds. You can’t communicate that clearly. Then Announcing that some of these films are no longer relevant going forward would damage them immensely at the box office.
At Warner, you face the difficult decision of whether or not to let the rumor mill boil, which can give the impression that everything is quite chaotic and that the desired order with a clear plan still does not enter the DCU. Or you make clear announcements and possibly sink one or more blockbusters worth millions that should be cinema hits.
Whatever: Batman, Superman and Co. are the future
Which films and which stars will continue in the future, probably not many more people know than James Gunn and Peter Safran. One thing is clear, however, given the statements made by both Warner boss David Zaslav and James Gunn: The well-known figures such as Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Co. form the backbone of the new DCU. So we will continue to see them in the cinemas. But whether Robert Pattinson will fight Batman alongside Henry Cavill’s Superman or whether completely different actors will slip into these roles remains the big question, which will probably be the wildest of rumors in the coming weeks and months…
Update: James Gunn and Matt Reeves deny
Shortly after our article was published, James Gunn and Matt Reeves both took to Twitter to deny the news that Robert Pattinson’s Batman would also be the new DCU Batman: