The Batman
WB
There has been a lot of talk now that the Superman trailer has aired, whether or not David Corenswet’s Clark could be paired with Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne, despite previous indications that was not happening.
Well, it’s still not happening. Asked about the recently announced Clayface movie, which will somehow end up being the third DCU film, James Gunn had this to say to Gizmodo:
“Well, I mean, Clayface is in the DCU so it doesn’t matter.”
Despite some rumors, the official line is still that The Batman, and now The Penguin series, will remain an “Elseworld” project outside the DCU. Even though Gunn has said it was previously considered, he said ultimately it was Matt Reeves’ choice, and he wanted the freedom to keep exploring his own universe free from what might be the constraints of the larger DCU. So that’s what’s happening, and now Reeves is free to share what’s going on in The Batman 2, where the script is reportedly still being worked on. Here’s him speaking with Digital Spy, though he remains light on details:
“As we enter into the next movie, there’s a lot more grey,” Reeves continued. “There’s a lot more people at odds. There’s a lot more division in the city. It’s a lot more like our world is now, there’s a lot of turmoil because people are in their camps and they’re not communicating.
“How does Batman fit into that? Where do you fit? It’s not as clear as going, ‘Oh yeah, bad guy, I go after bad guys’.
“And when things are in grey, it makes it very hard to be Batman, so this is part of the challenge as we enter it.”
The Penguin
WB
The Batman 2 is said to begin right as The Penguin ends and winter hits Gotham. We know effectively nothing about the villains and characters that may come to the film, though of course the movie ended with Barry Keoghan revealed as the universe’s Joker. Gunn has shot down the idea that a Joker series is coming to HBO in the vein of The Penguin, but he has not been ruled out for the film, and Keoghan is being cagey about it.
The Batman universe seems to want to avoid anything supernatural or too out-there, which rules out say, Clayface, but so far it’s been able to adapt The Riddler (as a Zodiac-type killer), The Penguin (a pure mobster) and we’ll see about Joker, but at the very least, an imprisoned psychopath. The winter theme has some thinking about Mr. Freeze, but if so, that would likely have to be a modified Reeves take rather than a guy walking around in a bubble helmet. Black Mask has been thrown around as a villain that would fit well in this universe, but this is all just guesswork for now.
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