DC Studios has confirmed that Matt Reeves' The Batman Epic Crime Saga is its own extended universe. The Batman's release in 2022 came just before James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed heads of DC Studios, and enacted a complete relaunch of the superhero universe. As the DCU has started to grow with the releases of Superman and Creature Commandos, so has Reeves' The Batman saga.
The studio has since confirmed that The Batman is its own "extended universe." The release of Superman: The Art and Making of the Film has described the DC films as "Matt Reeves's The Batman and its extended universe, including HBO series The Penguin."
This is the first time The Batman Epic Crime Saga has been officially dubbed its own extended universe, which was made possible following the release of The Penguin in 2024 - a TV series starring Colin Farrell's Oz Cobb, set after the events of The Batman. Next, The Batman extended universe will expand further with the release of The Batman: Part II in 2027 (and talks are still on the table for another season of The Penguin). Reeves is also reportedly in development on another mystery The Batman spin-off series, which would continue to expand his DC extended universe.
The Superman art book says that Reeves' The Batman universe, often dubbed the Batman Epic Crime Saga, is one of many "select stories set outside the main continuity", with another example being Todd Phillips' Joker and Joker Folie à Deux. Since Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios, many questions have been raised about the continuity status of specific projects and whether the new DCU vision will impact them.
Early on, the CEO's said that Elseworlds projects, ie, films outside the central canon universe, would still be possible. As reiterated in the Superman artbook, this combination of canon and Elseworlds projects was designed to "mirror how readers have enjoyed a combination of main line and bespoke DC Comics over the years."
This establishes that DC Studios officially has two superhero universes at the same time, with the DCU containing Superman and Peacemaker considered the main DCU (which will soon expand with Supergirl and Clayface in 2026), and Reeves' Batman Epic Crime Saga also expanding alongside the DCU in its own Elseworlds continuity.
DC Has Duelling Batman Universes
While it has been established from the beginning that The Batman exists in a separate continuity from the DCU, many have hoped that DC Studios may change tack and make Pattinson's Batman the DCU's version of the character.
These hopes come as the DCU stalls on finding its own version of Batman, with the announced The Brave and the Bold project still in early development and no new actor cast in the cape and cowl.
The DCU is forging ahead on filling in the Batman universe in the absence of the titular hero, with 2026's Clayface bringing to life one of the superhero's famous villains. After a Battinson logo was spotted on the set of Clayface, it's been speculated that DC Studios may plan to merge these universes, but nothing has been officially confirmed.
How exactly DC Studios will settle the Batman debate remains to be seen, but for now, The Batman Epic Crime Saga continues to progress on its own terms, while the DCU expands under Gunn and Safran's guidance.
The Batman Epic Crime Saga began in March 2022 with the release of The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell, and more. The Batman - Part 2 will continue the narrative of Pattinson's Bruce Wayne when it releases on October 1, 2027.
