It seems like not a day goes by lately without some sort of news about DC Studios: The movies that aren’t happening, the movies that might happen, the movies that already happened but then got canceled before they could make their way to theaters or streaming.
Sometimes, things shift hour by hour, not even day by day. Earlier today Variety published a report that was mostly a recap of the recent behind-the-scenes saga at DC Studios, with new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran trying to pin down their vision and plan for the years ahead at the company. Their big scoop, according to a “well-placed source,” was that Gunn and Safran were “exploring the possibility” of bringing Robert Pattinson’s version of Batman from Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman into the wider DC movie universe.
But just a short while later, Gunn himself refuted that notion, tweeting that the reporter behind that piece “needs to get a new source” because the notion that The Batman might become the Batman of the DC movie universe is “entirely untrue.”
Making Pattinson’s Batman the definitive Batman of whatever Gunn and Safran are planning would have major repercussions, and not just for whatever sequel Reeves and Pattinson have already been discussing. There are spinoff television shows for HBO Max involving characters in that The Batman universe like Colin Farrell’s Penguin, which would also have to be incorporated into the DC Universe along with Battinson. And then there is the question of what to do about the upcoming Joker sequel, which is set in neither the main DC movie universe or The Batman movie universe.
No wonder Gunn and Safran are taking their time figuring out how to proceed; this stuff is really complicated. The next DCU movie, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, is scheduled to open in theaters on March 17, 2023.
Actors Who Turned Down DC Roles
These major stars could have played some of your favorite DC Comics’ heroes onscreen. But they all said no for one reason or another.
