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Credit: DC/Warner Bros./Clay Enos via TwitterIt’s official: The DC Universe is getting a new Batman!
Batman has been one of the most popular characters in the DC canon since the 1940s. It’s arguable that the character even kept the cinematic world of DC alive with the immense popularity of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. The Caped Crusader has also seen his fair share of reboots, and now, it looks like he’s getting one more as part of the DC Universe.
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Following Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises (2012), fans were curious about where DC and Warner Bros. could take the character. Christian Bale was out, and the gritty realism of Nolan’s world wouldn’t necessarily mesh with things like Kryptonian aliens in bright blue and red suits. Enter Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Introduced in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), ‘Batfleck’ as he was soon dubbed, was a departure from Bale’s Batman, which was necessary. The delineation created a character that was, in ways, closer to the DC Comics version and one that fit a little better next to Henry Cavill, and within what was then the DC Extended Universe. Despite not having his own film, ‘Batfleck’ soon gained a loyal fan following, and audiences were hopeful he’d get his due in a solo film soon.
Those hopes may well have been dashed today in an announcement from Co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn. The long-awaited announcement dumped a massive slate of 10 different projects, along with other news, and has shaken the world of DC. Along with plenty of other updates which will be reported here at Inside the Magic, Gunn provided information on Batman in the new DC Universe.
In the report, Gunn noted that the next DC Universe Batman project would be a new DC film called The Brave and the Bold. His comments indicated that this would be an entirely new Batman, separate from ‘Batfleck,’ saying:
“The Introduction of the DCU’s Batman is “The Brave and the Bold”…the story of Batman and his actual son, Damian Wayne. This is based on Grant Morrison’s great comic book run. Damian Wayne is my favorite Robin. He’s a little assassin who Batman tries to get in line, and so this is the story of the two of them and the beginning of sort of the “Bat-Family” in the DCU.”
These comments also hint at a more significant role for Batman in the new DC Universe, as Gunn confirms that there will be an introduction of the “Bat-Family,” meaning audiences could soon see characters like Batgirl, Nightwing, other iterations of Robin, Red Hood, and others! It’s an exciting development, even if Ben Affleck isn’t part of it.
Related: ‘The Batman’ Director Matt Reeves In Talks With DC Studio Heads About Developing ‘BatVerse’
Gunn also made it clear that while The Brave and the Bold will be part of the main storyline of the DC Universe, Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022) with Robert Pattinson and subsequent films would still continue under the banner “DC Elseworlds.” This also means, along with other comments made by Gunn and Peter Safran, that fans could still see appearances by Ben Affleck just outside the DC Universe.
What do you think of the new direction for Batman? Let us know in the comments below!