For the last few years, a dangling question has lurked over the DC Universe: What’s going on with Batman? One of the very first projects James Gunn announced was The Brave and the Bold, a solo film following Batman and the Damian Wayne incarnation of Robin, so it’s not like the question was about whether or not Batman would appear in this franchise. However, the uncertainty centered on Robert Pattinson headlining a series of The Batman films simultaneously that weren’t in the DC Universe continuity. Could the world handle two ongoing Batman franchises?
This had led to endless speculation on whether or not Pattinson’s Batman universe will just get retroactively folded into the new DC Universe. DC Studios heads Gunn and Peter Safran have maintained that the plan is to introduce a new Bruce Wayne/Batman into the DC Universe and keep the Matt Reeves material separate. However, there’s an easy way to integrate The Batman into the world of Superman and Peacemaker, should DC Studios want to go down that route.
Just Say Pattinson’s Batman Has Been Here All Along
The opening on-screen text of Superman establishes that David Corenswet’s Superman has only been active and public as a superhero for three years. Meta-humans, meanwhile, have existed for centuries. There’s no need to get really wonky and suddenly center The Batman: Part Two or other upcoming DC Universe projects around “multi-dimensional travel” matters to justify why Pattinson’s Batman suddenly exists in this franchise. Just say the events of The Batman happened before Superman was saving people in Metropolis. He’s always been here in this universe. The silhouetted Batman seen in Creature Commandos was actually Pattinson.
Given that three years separate The Batman and Superman’s respective release dates, the timeline, even in the real world, makes total sense for Pattinson’s Batman to have begun his crime-fighting life before Superman appeared. Just going that route would be clean and simple. No need to clutter everything up with belabored explanations for how the Matt Reeves take on Gotham City got here. Like with sorcerers or even Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Batman and its populace were always in the DC Universe; they were just out of frame.
After all, nothing in The Batman suggests that meta-humans don’t exist, nor that there aren’t other places, Metropolis, Coast City, Themyscira, Central City, or Smallville just beyond Gotham’s borders. The very standalone, self-contained nature of The Batman makes it easy to retroactively make it canon for the DC Universe. Given that Gunn himself has recently openly talked about how the isolated nature of DC Extended Universe properties like Peacemaker season one and Blue Beetle make them a cinch to fold into the DC Universe, the same could be said for The Batman’s storytelling aesthetic.
Why Not Streamline Things For Live-Action Batman Media?
The concept of integrating The Batman into the larger DC Universe sounds very enticing simply for the sake of clarity. Having two different live-action movie versions of Batman running around simultaneously could get very cumbersome, very fast. Bringing them together would streamline things and help stave off cinematic Batman fatigue. Plus, it’s not like the presence of the larger DC Universe would dilute the extremely self-contained, grounded stories Reeves wants to tell within The Batman films and its TV spinoffs.
When a comic book story focusing on just one superhero is good, nobody wonders, “Why didn’t The Flash step in to help save the day?” The same should be true in film. Pattinson’s Batman can have his own adventures without needing constant nods and acknowledgments of other DC Universe staples. His Gotham City can be its own island in standalone movies and TV shows. Plus, with Pattinson preparing to turn 40 in 2026, he’s starting to reach the age where he could conceivably play the father of a young Damian Wayne.
If Gunn wants to do separate live-action Batman stories focused on material like that proposed Brave and the Bold movie, Pattinson could totally do that. Who wouldn’t want to have an actor of this man’s caliber anchoring your motion pictures? Granted, there’s conceivably a way for multiple Batmen to exist at once in the movies. However, if Gunn and Safran want to make things a bit more streamlined (and get the immense benefits of working with the brilliant Gotham City vision Reeves has concocted), there’s certainly an easy, drama-free way to retroactively make The Batman a part of Corenswet’s Superman’s world.
The Batman is now streaming on HBO Max, and Superman is now playing in theaters.
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