The more things change, the more they stay the same.
On November 1, 2022, DC Studios was formed and headed up by James Gunn and Peter Safran. As its own unit, it would be largely independent from Warner Bros. Discovery, with Gunn and Safran reporting directly to WBD CEO David Zaslav. The reason for this change was simple: WBD wanted a singular unified vision for all things DC rather than how it had painted itself into a corner with movies, TV shows, and video games in the past decade.
Famously, Zaslav said he didn’t want four versions of characters running around in this universe, because it confuses the general audience. While Zaslav has had more than a few wobbles in his tenure and made a lot of unpopular (and near-catastrophic) decisions, he isn’t wrong in this regard. The average person isn’t perpetually online nor concerned with all the drama that keeps Reddit alive on a Tuesday. So, when they see a trailer with a different actor playing Batman, for example, the general reaction is, “Oh, there’s another Batman actor?”
What became obvious was that this new DC Universe needed to start from scratch – a total wipeout of the board was necessary. From the get-go, you could see there was resistance to a full-blown reboot, since the likes of Joker: Folie à Deux, The Penguin, Peacemaker Season 2, and The Batman Part II were in different phases of production. So, Gunn explained this away by saying the DCU wouldn’t be a full reboot and that there could be Elseworlds tales in this universe, which wouldn’t necessarily be a part of canon.
Doesn’t this go against what Zaslav said about multiple versions of characters, though? Yip, it does. However, it’s likely a compromise that Gunn and Safran made in the beginning of the discussions for the future of the DCU. After all, 2019’s Joker hit over $1 billion and won countless awards, while 2022’s The Batman received critical acclaim and also made close to $800 million, so there was money on the table here. The thinking was probably: let those sequels wrap up and we’ll deal with those characters further down the road.
Joker: Folie à Deux bombed hard – to the point in which the character may have to stay off screen for a few years to repair his damaged image. Yet, The Penguin became an award-winning TV show, and fans couldn’t wait to see the story continue in The Batman Part II. Unfortunately, there’s one problem: Reeves has labored with the script for this movie for several years. Notoriously known as a slow writer, the filmmaker has taken his time with the story, and production for The Batman Part II shifted out years from when it was planned. In fact, a lot of fans joke that Robert Pattinson may have to play an older Bruce Wayne in a Batman Beyond movie at the pace we’re going.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn asked for people to lay off Reeves and give him the space to finish the script. However, he also opened up more about the topic of Batman itself. He said, “Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally,” adding how there’s a writer working on the DCU’s Batman film and they’re trying to crack the story.
At the same time, Gunn also touched upon a previous comment where he said it was Reeves’ choice not to integrate Pattinson’s Batman into the DCU. When asked about the possibility of it ever happening, Gunn said, “I would never say zero, because you just never know. But it’s not likely. It’s not likely at all. I’ll also say Batman Part II is not canceled. That’s the other thing I hear all the time – that Batman Part II is canceled. It’s not canceled. We don’t have a script. Matt’s slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he’s doing.”
While Gunn provided a diplomatic answer here, it’s not too difficult to read between the lines, because there’s a Batman problem in the DCU. Zaslav said he doesn’t want multiple versions of characters running around in the universe, and there’s little chance that the DCU’s Batman gets announced before Reeves releases his movie. Considering the importance of a character like the Dark Knight, don’t expect to see Reeves’ Batman and another one on screen around the same time because it dilutes the character’s importance. If you do, well, what was the point of this “new” DCU then?
Right now, the DCU is hamstrung until Reeves finishes The Batman Part II, which looks more than a few years away. So, what happens until then? The DCU needs to dance around the character and avoid him, that’s what. Maybe it mentions him in passing or alludes to him like the Arrowverse did for 10 years, but never shows him on screen. Unless, of course, Gunn convinces Reeves to integrate him into the DCU, then it’s a problem solved.
Unfortunately, this is a mess created by WBD, so it’s one that it needs to fix. After all, the studio had no problem pulling the rug out from under the fans by bringing back Henry Cavill’s Superman in Black Adam then saying it was rebooting the character. Honestly, the same should have happened with The Batman Part II. Either Pattinson’s Batman should have been integrated in this “new” universe or he should have made way for someone new – and this comes from a writer who is a major fan of his interpretation of the Caped Crusader. Instead, fans find themselves in the land of confusion about what’s happening in this supposed unified universe. Now, imagine how the general public must be feeling.
On November 1, 2022, DC Studios was formed and headed up by James Gunn and Peter Safran. As its own unit, it would be largely independent from Warner Bros. Discovery, with Gunn and Safran reporting directly to WBD CEO David Zaslav. The reason for this change was simple: WBD wanted a singular unified vision for all things DC rather than how it had painted itself into a corner with movies, TV shows, and video games in the past decade.
Famously, Zaslav said he didn’t want four versions of characters running around in this universe, because it confuses the general audience. While Zaslav has had more than a few wobbles in his tenure and made a lot of unpopular (and near-catastrophic) decisions, he isn’t wrong in this regard. The average person isn’t perpetually online nor concerned with all the drama that keeps Reddit alive on a Tuesday. So, when they see a trailer with a different actor playing Batman, for example, the general reaction is, “Oh, there’s another Batman actor?”
A reboot was necessary, but it didn’t happen as it should have
What became obvious was that this new DC Universe needed to start from scratch – a total wipeout of the board was necessary. From the get-go, you could see there was resistance to a full-blown reboot, since the likes of Joker: Folie à Deux, The Penguin, Peacemaker Season 2, and The Batman Part II were in different phases of production. So, Gunn explained this away by saying the DCU wouldn’t be a full reboot and that there could be Elseworlds tales in this universe, which wouldn’t necessarily be a part of canon.
Doesn’t this go against what Zaslav said about multiple versions of characters, though? Yip, it does. However, it’s likely a compromise that Gunn and Safran made in the beginning of the discussions for the future of the DCU. After all, 2019’s Joker hit over $1 billion and won countless awards, while 2022’s The Batman received critical acclaim and also made close to $800 million, so there was money on the table here. The thinking was probably: let those sequels wrap up and we’ll deal with those characters further down the road.
Joker: Folie à Deux bombed hard – to the point in which the character may have to stay off screen for a few years to repair his damaged image. Yet, The Penguin became an award-winning TV show, and fans couldn’t wait to see the story continue in The Batman Part II. Unfortunately, there’s one problem: Reeves has labored with the script for this movie for several years. Notoriously known as a slow writer, the filmmaker has taken his time with the story, and production for The Batman Part II shifted out years from when it was planned. In fact, a lot of fans joke that Robert Pattinson may have to play an older Bruce Wayne in a Batman Beyond movie at the pace we’re going.
Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman Part II’ is holding back the character in the DC Universe
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn asked for people to lay off Reeves and give him the space to finish the script. However, he also opened up more about the topic of Batman itself. He said, “Batman’s my biggest issue in all of DC right now, personally,” adding how there’s a writer working on the DCU’s Batman film and they’re trying to crack the story.
At the same time, Gunn also touched upon a previous comment where he said it was Reeves’ choice not to integrate Pattinson’s Batman into the DCU. When asked about the possibility of it ever happening, Gunn said, “I would never say zero, because you just never know. But it’s not likely. It’s not likely at all. I’ll also say Batman Part II is not canceled. That’s the other thing I hear all the time – that Batman Part II is canceled. It’s not canceled. We don’t have a script. Matt’s slow. Let him take his time. Let him do what he’s doing.”
While Gunn provided a diplomatic answer here, it’s not too difficult to read between the lines, because there’s a Batman problem in the DCU. Zaslav said he doesn’t want multiple versions of characters running around in the universe, and there’s little chance that the DCU’s Batman gets announced before Reeves releases his movie. Considering the importance of a character like the Dark Knight, don’t expect to see Reeves’ Batman and another one on screen around the same time because it dilutes the character’s importance. If you do, well, what was the point of this “new” DCU then?
There was an easy way to avoid this Batman problem from the start
Right now, the DCU is hamstrung until Reeves finishes The Batman Part II, which looks more than a few years away. So, what happens until then? The DCU needs to dance around the character and avoid him, that’s what. Maybe it mentions him in passing or alludes to him like the Arrowverse did for 10 years, but never shows him on screen. Unless, of course, Gunn convinces Reeves to integrate him into the DCU, then it’s a problem solved.
Unfortunately, this is a mess created by WBD, so it’s one that it needs to fix. After all, the studio had no problem pulling the rug out from under the fans by bringing back Henry Cavill’s Superman in Black Adam then saying it was rebooting the character. Honestly, the same should have happened with The Batman Part II. Either Pattinson’s Batman should have been integrated in this “new” universe or he should have made way for someone new – and this comes from a writer who is a major fan of his interpretation of the Caped Crusader. Instead, fans find themselves in the land of confusion about what’s happening in this supposed unified universe. Now, imagine how the general public must be feeling.