The DC Extended Universe has been in a state of turmoil ever since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. With Zack Snyder suffering a horrible tragedy, and Ben Affleck’s unknown position as the caped crusader, fans were unsure how the universe would fall into place.
Recently more rumors have surfaced that the solo Batman film’s director is looking for a younger face to replace Ben Affleck’s. After the interesting performances in Batman v Superman and Justice League, fans were divided. In the first film starring Affleck’s Dark Knight critics called him a show-stopper, as he was often the most iconic character in the movie. However, in Justice League, Joss Whedon adds an edge of humor to Snyder’s dark world that doesn’t quite work. Many would argue that it honestly kills the Bat. It wasn’t classy humor, like in the comics, it was gag shots (such as having the Flash fall on Wonder Woman’s chest) and cheap laughs.
Matt Reeves, the director of the upcoming Batman film, says it will focus on the younger days of him becoming the hero. It will also focus on him becoming “World’s Greatest Detective.” I’d really love to see a Sherlock Holmes and Batman live-action crossover!
As soon as Ben Affleck removed himself from the role, names started dropping. Jake Gyllenhaal, John Hamm and Ben Barnes have all been brought up, by fans and by Warner Bros. A reporter from Variety, Justin Kroll tweeted on some inside knowledge from the film:
THE BATMAN: this sounds like it could move faster (than) people would expect with the date set. Hearing studio wants a familiar face and Reeves has his certain age in mind and that age is very specific like I said two names within 7 years of each other; “Too young, too Old”
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) February 1, 2019
It’s still not clear whether the film will form part of the extended universe, but the release date is set for March 5th, 2021.
The next Gotham/Batman-lore film is the exciting Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) starring Margot Robbie and directed by Cathy Yan. This film is due on February 2020.
In between, we will still have Shazam (April 5th, 2019) to look forward to this year.