Rumors of The Batman 2's cancellation may be just what James Gunn's DCU plans needed. It has been over three years since Robert Pattinson last suited up as DC's Dark Knight, and still, Matt Reeves' Gotham City sequel looks no closer to release.
This lack of updates on The Batman follow-up has caused some to think that the movie may be outright cancelled, and instead, the next Batman will appear in Gunn's newly launched interconnected DCU (assumedly in the in-development The Brave and the Bold film).
These worries stem from a mixture of things, with the dearth of news on the movie only being one small part of a greater, ever-growing problem.
As The Batman - Part 2 has continued its lengthy development process, some of its biggest stars have started looking elsewhere despite reports that filming was supposed to begin later this year.
This has been seen with Penguin actor Colin Farrell, who is reportedly already looking at another DC Comics role as the titular hero in Luca Guadagnino's upcoming Sgt. Rock movie.
Farrell would replace James Bond star Daniel Craig, who was initially set to lead the film but ultimately backed out for undisclosed reasons.
This compounded nerves about the movie, as its biggest star, Robert Pattinson, has also been attached to several projects that either are currently filming or will film imminently, filling out his schedule for where The Batman 2 filming was supposed to take place.
The Batman star is currently filming Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, with many assuming he would slide right into The Batman 2 production shortly after. Pattinson disclosed as such in early March that he was set to "shoot [The Batman 2] after The Odyssey:"
"I’m going to shoot it after 'The Odyssey' at the end of the year. I only have a vague idea of the script."
However, a new wrench may have been thrown into that plan, as Pattinson's name has come up in reports suggesting he could be eyed to play the villain role in Denis Villeneuve's next Dune film.
As that movie is reportedly set to film later this year, time on Pattinson's busy schedule is starting to dwindle, potentially pointing to another lengthy delay for the DC sequel or an outright cancellation.
Cancelling The Batman 2 Might Be the Best Idea
Despite the acclaim of the first The Batman film, the movie's cancellation (if it were to happen) may ultimately be for the best, especially when it comes to James Gunn's upcoming DCU plans.
After Gunn and his DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran took over the brand's on-screen efforts at the end of 2022, much was made about how The Batman would fit into his vision for the super-powered universe.
At the time, he addressed the future of the Batman franchise, dubbing Matt Reeve's DC universe an Elseworlds story—an on-screen DC narrative that exists outside the interconnected continuity of the greater DCU.
This would allow Robert Pattinson's Batman to continue his gritty crime saga in the grounded Gotham of Reeves' films, while James Gunn could introduce a Batman of his own into the DCU, running parallel to The Batman films.
However, given how much fans have adored Pattinson's take on the character, this idea of bringing in a DCU-specific Batman actor has long drawn skepticism from audiences who had hoped The Batman would just be roped into the greater DCU.
If The Batman - Part 2 has been cancelled, though, this may clear up this confusion and could potentially give those more cynical fans precisely what they wanted.
The longer The Batman 2 takes to make, the more likely it is that Gunn grabs Pattinson and uses his take on the character in his DCU movies.
Cancelling this current iteration of Matt Reeves' next Batman film could see the DC Studios brass bring in the much-celebrated take on the Dark Knight's mythos, transforming The Batman 2 into a DCU film proper.
This would allow for more cohesion among the brand's bat-based efforts, with only one actor playing the character at any given time. It would also add a franchise/character within the DCU's interconnected ranks that has already been dubbed a massive win for Warner Bros. and DC.
Yes, it would likely mean moving away from Reeves' original The Batman vision and probably cancelling The Brave and the Bold in its current form (which has also had its fair share of issues in recent months).
However, it would allow the DCU to use Pattinson's beloved take on the character as one of the figureheads of its greater universe.
And for those worried that this could take away from the tone of the first The Batman film, that might not necessarily be the case. In the comics, the DC brand has long been able to incorporate different themes and tonal feels from character to character and universe to universe.
This means that a DCU The Batman movie could maintain most of that gritty, brooding tone of the first film while standing alongside the hope-filled, colorful world of James Gunn's Superman and able to crossover with other properties when the DC Studios brass sees fit (read more about Batman's upcoming on-screen appearances here).
