Ever since Ben Affleck stepped down as the Director of The Batman, things have really gone sideways for his version of the Bat Vigilante in Gotham. Joss Whedon made him crack jokes, and now Matt Reeves has completely cast him aside. It has been confirmed that Batfleck is not going to be a thing from now on as Affleck has admitted that he ain’t Batman no more. WB is looking for a new face for the Cowl and they will probably announce that till the time we reach San Diego Comic-Con this year.
Rumors have suggested that Matt Reeves is developing a story that will show us the very early days of Bruce Wayne as Batman. The storyline will be based upon Batman Year One, but for now, we don’t know whether this version of Batman is a part of the shared Universe, i.e. the DCEU, or will it be an independent story just like Todd Phillips’ Joker.
It will perhaps be a stand-alone independent franchise separating itself from Ben Affleck’s Batman since Matt Reeves has said time and time again this is the story he has always wanted to make, and WB has also shown that they are not afraid to step out of their shared continuity.
If a Justice League gets made in the future, then it is entirely possible that the band could be brought back and we could see Henry Cavill’s Superman return along with Ben Affleck’s Batman. But that future is very distant and rather improbable. The reason I believe that The Batman will be in a separate continuity is because Ben Affleck recently talked to ET Canada while promoting Triple Frontier, and he confirmed whatever is being said about Matt Reeves’ movie.
He said:
“I’m looking forward to it. They’ve got a great director. They’re doing a kind of, I don’t want to give away anything because they get…but they’re doing a young version, a more starting-out version with a younger guy… I’m sure it will be great.”
Making an actor look young through Make Up or CGI isn’t a big feat these days. Even though WB screwed Superman with bad CGI, the VFX for Aquaman were great, and their work with the De-aging technology was also pretty cool when they did it to the likes of Nuidis Vulko and Thomas Curry.
So, Ben Affleck could have been cast as a young Batman as well, but Matt Reeves wanted someone different as he is telling a separate story altogether. And apart from that, Affleck confirms that this version of Batman is just starting out, so this story will show his initial struggles of being the Caped Crusader.
As far as the Villains of the movie are concerned, the film is said to feature a Rogues Gallary and Penguin is being rumored to be the big bad pulling all the strings. Rumor also suggests that this Batman movie will be more grounded involving Batman doing some real detective work instead of just jumping off of rooftops and taking down bad guys.
WB is pretty quiet upon anything related to The Batman but Matt Reeves has spoken in detail about what he intends to do with this film:
“It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale. It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.”
The Batman opens on June 25, 2021.
