Geoff Johns Wants to Build a Batman Movie Universe

7 years ago

Without a doubt, Batman is the most successful DC Comics character to be adapted for the big screen. From Tim Burton, to Joel Schumacher, to Christopher Nolan, and to the DC Extended Universe, the Caped Crusader has pretty much always been a winner for Warner Bros. So it was no surprise when DCEU co-runner and DC Films co-chairman Geoff Johns said that Warner Bros. intended to make room for Batman in a corner of the DCEU.

If at first the slate of movies Warner Bros. announced in 2014 included no Batman titles, plans changed as time passed. Now, Matt Reeves is working on rebooting the franchise; David Ayer is directing a Gotham City Sirens movie; Chris McKay is directing a solo Nightwing flick; Joss Whedon is directing Batgirl; and Suicide Squad 2 will be released in 2019.

In addition, there are plenty of rumors flying around about even more Batman-related movies, including one about Deadshot and another that pits Harley Quinn against The Joker.

Geoff Johns told IGN about the Batman/DCEU concept, adding that filming for Batgirl will also take place next year:

We haven't gone out there and said what our slate is, and that's because we'll do it when we're ready, and we have the films that we're excited about. But for Batman, what I will say is that Batman is more than just Batman and, you know, it's been way too long since we've seen an expansion of that universe. We are doing Batgirl with Joss Whedon, and it's going to be super exciting. He's going to start that next year, and that's just the start. We want to explore the Batman universe in a very big, new way. Matt Reeves is coming on to do Batman now, and we don't want to do the same thing that has been done before. We want to build it out just like we built it out in the comics (via Screen Rant).

Now we really believe the recent report about Ben Affleck leaving the DC Extended Universe. At the age of 44, it’s unlikely that the actor would even agree to take on even a brief cameo in one of these titles.

Ben Affleck in Dawn of Justice (Warner Bros.)

Nonetheless, Ben Affleck and Zack Snyder should get the credit for these plans, since their efforts in connection with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice sparked the conversation about Batman in the first place.