Earlier today, a report published by The Hollywood Reporter stated that Ben Affleck won’t star as the caped crusader in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Furthermore, it was also reported that the standalone film won’t be part of the DCEU instead it will be one of the lineups in Warner Bros. new DC banner.
UPDATE: Matt Reeves clarified his statements about The Batman not being part of the DCEU via his tweets. Readers can check it out below.
The news broke the internet and left many fans disappointed and enraged. But since then, in an unexpected turn of event, the story has been corrected, reporting that it is “unclear where that project will fall.”
THR has rarely been known for making such huge blunders in their stories. In fact, it is one of the mainstream news websites that report accurate announcement news stories similar to Deadline.
For those unaware, an earlier report revealed that Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment were in the early stages of development with an origin film project for The Joker. It was stated that the new film would be the first in a new DC banner.
The report clarified that Warner Bros. plans to produce more standalone DC films but its storyline would be different from the events that occur in the DCEU. Although some fans found the announcement unsettling, there were others that supported the new DC banner as it leads to the production of more DC films. But it looks like that seemed to have changed the fans positive perspective due to the recent THR story.
While THR may have corrected their story on The Batman, another report seems to suggest that the news may have been right all along. Recently, director Matt Reeves spoke about the DC project on “The Business” podcast hosted by THR’s Kim Masters.
During his talk, Reeves spoke about taking on the project and his vision for the character Batman. While speaking about his talk with Warner Bros. the director made a startling statement which seemed to have gone unnoticed until now.
“When they approached me, what they said was: ‘look, it’s a standalone, this isn’t part of the extended universe,” said Reeves.
As pointed out by Batman-News, the above podcast was published on July 17th. Later on, THR’s Kim Masters also wrote a piece which reportedly stated that Warner Bros. is searching for a way to “gracefully” exit Affleck’s version of The Batman from upcoming DC films.
After the upcoming Justice League, Affleck still has one more appearance to make as The Batman according to his contract. If not Matt Reeves’ The Batman, it is possible that his version of the caped crusader would make his next appearance in DCEU’s Flashpoint or Justice League 2.
Warner Bros. hasn’t made any official announcements yet. It is possible that the studio would avoid making a statement till the release of Justice League. If Matt Reeves’ The Batman is, in fact, looking to cast a new actor and be part of the new DC banner, it would eventually lead to bad press for the upcoming DC film. Readers are urged to stay up-to-date with our reports for the latest news.
Jeez, what'd I miss, guys…? ?
Just to be clear: Of COURSE Batman will be part of the D.C. Universe. Batman will be BATMAN…
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) August 24, 2017
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…
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) August 24, 2017
…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.
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) August 24, 2017
