Is ‘The Batman’ Part of DCEU?

DC Extended Universe kicked off with Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ in 2013. And now, after ten years of existence, it will end this year with ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’ Before everything went down the hill with the theatrical cut of ‘Justice League,’ we all hoped Ben Affleck’s Batman would get his solo movie, but the plans ultimately failed, and Matt Reeves co-wrote and directed ‘The Batman,’ starring Robert Pattinson. But is the movie part of the DCEU?

The Batman movie is not part of the DC Extended Universe. After plans for a solo Batman movie starring Ben Affleck crumbled, Matt Reeves decided to make his Batman movie a separate thing. The Batman movie is the first project set in the so-called Batverse, an independent shared universe that will spawn The Penguin spin-off series in 2024 and The Batman — Part II in 2025.

Matt Reeves was initially hired to write and direct the Batman movie starring Ben Affleck, which would be a part of the DCEU. But after Affleck abandoned the project, Reeves started developing a new screenplay from scratch, this time focusing on younger and more inexperienced Batman. Robert Pattinson was cast in the title role, and the movie was released to a positive response last year. While we’re waiting for the sequel, let’s examine the status of Pattinson’s Batman in DC and his future.

What universe is ‘The Batman’ in?

Ever since Michael Keaton played the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ movie in 1989, we could always count that another Batman movie would happen sooner or later. After the original Batman franchise concluded with 1997’s ‘Batman & Robin,’ Christopher Nolan started ‘The Dark Knight trilogy’ with 2005’s ‘Batman: Begins,’ starring Christian Bale. After that trilogy was concluded in 2012, DC decided to try its hand at cinematic universes, given that the popularity of the MCU had increased greatly.

Following 2013’s ‘Man of Steel,’ it was decided that the movie’s sequel would be ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ which introduced Ben Affleck’s Batman into the DCEU. Affleck reprised the role in 2016’s ‘Suicide Squad,’ and both released cuts of ‘Justice League,’ but although there have been some talks about his standalone Batman movie, we need to wait for ten years for the next Batman solo movie. Ten years after the release of Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ was released.

The original plans for the Batman movie starring Ben Affleck were that the movie would be set in DCEU, with Affleck set to both star and direct. After a while, Affleck announced that he wouldn’t direct the movie, so Matt Reeves was brought on board. After Affleck definitely decided that he won’t return for the so-called ‘Batfleck’ movie, Reeves started developing a new screenplay, focusing on a younger Batman and his detective abilities.

Robert Pattinson was cast as the new Caped Crusader, and it was announced that the movie would be separated from the DCEU. Although The Batman movie kicked off its own universe, unofficially known as the ‘Batverse,’ it is set to spawn a series of spin-off shows apart from the movie’s sequel. ‘The Penguin’ spin-off series is set to premiere next year on MAX, and there are a few more potential spin-offs in development, including the ‘Arkham Asylum’ series and the ‘GCPD’ series, along with other potential spin-offs focused on the members of the Batman’s rogue gallery.

Are ‘Joker’ and ‘The Batman’ part of the same universe?

While the majority of DC movies we have watched since 2013 were officially set in tn DC Extended Universe, two of them were not, and interestingly enough, those two were some of the most successful movies WB and DC produced since ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy. We’re talking about ‘The Batman’ movie and Todd Philipp’s ‘Joker’ movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Although it’s based on a known comic book character, ‘Joker’ was more of a psychological drama than a comic book movie. Still, the movie received widespread acclaim, grossed over $1 billion, and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards. Since ‘Joker’ also isn’t part of the DCEU, there were some theories that ‘The Batman’ and ‘Joker’ are part of the same universe, but that isn’t the case since the Joker to Robert Pattinson’s Batman is portrayed by the Irish actor Barry Keoghan.

Will ‘The Batman’ be a part of the upcoming DCU?

We all know that DCEU is counting down its last months of existence, and another cinematic universe, officially called DCU, will replace it. DCU will serve as the soft reboot to DCEU, and while it’s going to keep some of the DCEU actors, some other roles will be recast.

We still aren’t sure what exactly James Gunn and Peter Safran have in their mind, but we can tell you some things that are certain: Robert Pattinson’s Batman will not be a part of DCU. DCU will have its own Batman, and a new actor will debut in the upcoming movie ‘The Brave and the Bold.’

The Batman is still set to get a sequel, ‘The Batman — Part II,’ in 2025, but that movie is officially considered an ‘Elseworlds’ project, just like the upcoming sequel to ‘Joker,’ which is set to be released in 2024. Once it starts, DCU will be considered the mainstream universe for DC movies. Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is separated from both DCU and ‘Batverse,’ and the upcoming ‘Penguin’ series will be officially set in the ‘Batverse.’

‘The Batman’ is currently streaming on MAX. ‘The Batman — Part II’ is set to be released on October 3, 2025.

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