Another day, another story about Warner Brothers’ DC Extended Universe that will have you groaning into your orange juice. This time (yet again!) it revolves around Ben Affleck’s Caped Crusader.

In an interview with KCRW, as reported by Batman on Film, The Batman director Matt Reeves has revealed that the film will not take place in the DCEU. We know, we know…

As Reeves explained, “Well I have a vision for a way to do something with that character that feels like it resonates with me personally, and a perspective that can grow out into other things. When they approached me, what they said was ‘Look, it’s a standalone, it’s not part of the extended universe.’”

This, of course, comes hot on the heels of the news earlier this week that an ’80s-set Joker origin movie was in development, with that film looking to re-cast the Clown Prince of Crime despite Jared Leto confirmed to appear in Suicide Squad 2 and Gotham City Sirens.

So, could The Batman be the same sort of arrangement as the Joker picture? As in, could the movie existing outside of the DCEU be an excuse for Warners to bring in a new Batman? After all, there have been constant rumblings of how unhappy Ben Affleck has been with the DCEU for a while now, not to mention those stories last month of The WB possibly looking to replace their latest cinematic Dark Knight. Then again, the “standalone” part could possibly mean something akin to what 20th Century Fox did with the mesmerising Logan, but then that may be giving too much credit to the decision-makers at Warners. With The Batman seen as a launching point for a new trilogy of Bat-flicks, getting things right for the first of these films is vital, and we’d advise Warner Brothers to tread very carefully, old chum.

To date, the problems with the DCEU have been near-enough endless. Stating the obvious, all three of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad endured critical maulings as well as disappointing many longtime DC fans. Wonder Woman may have been a shining light in this murky turd of a shared cinematic realm, but the problems elsewhere have given many reasons to be concerned. Let’s just look at Ezra Miller’s Scarlet Speedster, shall we. Titled The Flash, the Sultan of Speed’s solo movie was originally booked in to be released in February 2018. That release date is now completely off the table due to the fact that the film hasn’t even got a director by this point, with both Seth Grahame-Smith and Rick Famuyiwa having departed the project over the ever-familiar creative differences. Then, this year’s San Diego Comic-Con saw the dick-kicking decision to retitle that movie as Flashpoint; the same name of Geoff John’s famed comic book arc in which Barry Allen completely alters the present-day timeline due to time-travel – essentially a move which gives Warner Bothers a ‘way out’ if they want to reshuffle the continuity and key figures of their DCEU.

And while this shared universe may have a ridiculous amount of movies announced, there’s worryingly only confirmed release dates for, at the last count, three of them; Justice League, Aquaman, Wonder Woman 2. All still confirmed but a tad in limbo are the aforementioned Flashpoint, the Ray Fisher-headlined Cyborg picture that nobody wants to see, the Emerald Knights coming together for Green Lantern Corps., David Ayer’s female-driven Gotham City Sirens, the Suicide Squad sequel that’s currently on the hunt for a director, David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!, the Dwayne Johnson-starring Black Adam, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Joss Whedon’s Batgirl, Chris McKay’s Nightwing, the long-gestating Justice League Dark, and then surely another movie down the line for Henry Cavill’s Big Blue Boy Scout. And they’re just the ones we know about, with Warners already revealing plans for plenty of other TBD DCEU efforts.

Anyway, all of this continues to make our heads hurt here at Moonbase Alpha, but, as ever, expect more on this as we get it.

SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW OR ON TWITTER @STARBURST_MAG

Find your local STARBURST stockist HERE, or buy direct from us HERE. For our digital edition (available to read on your iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows 8, Samsung and/or Huawei device – all for just £1.99), visit MAGZTER DIGITAL NEWSSTAND.

 

CLICK TO BUY!

MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB:

Recommended Posts

No comment yet, add your voice below!


Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *