Given today's climate of constant news, speculation and commentary concerning our favorite characters at the movies, sometimes it can be frustrating when all of the theories and and ideas ultimately go unrequited. Some fans even find themselves panicking at the lack of new developments concerning their favorite franchises and characters, thinking that the old adage just doesn't hold true. Instead, they think "no news is bad news."
In no place are these feelings more obvious than the uncertain climate surrounding the future of DC Comics-based films outside of Wonder Woman 2, Aquaman and Shazam, most specifically in relation to the Dark Knight himself, Batman.
Here are just a few reasons why you shouldn't be all that concerned about a lack of news concerning Batman's next cinematic adventure, currently under the control of director Matt Reeves.
Batman Is Important to Warner Bros.
This is the primary reason that you really don't need to worry about the future of Batman at the movies. Of all of the DC Comics characters in WB's library of IP, even in spite of the fact that they're beginning to branch out beyond the core characters they've mostly relied on for decades, Batman represents the most popular superhero character owned in the entire vast Warner Bros. empire.
Movies featuring Batman at the box office have collectively grossed a total of $5 billion at the global box office since 1989, not to mention the plethora of other revenue streams they have access to through Batman in the form of merchandising, video games, TV projects, etc. Batman's grasp of popular culture over the course of his entire existence is virtually unparallelled.
Those truths by themselves almost ensure the future of Batman in theaters, making the next Batman movie a perennial question of "when," not "if." While the form that Batman may take in his next movie could fluctuate, the character himself is never too far behind when it comes to upcoming superhero movies - not in the modern era, anyway.
Matt Reeves Recently Expressed His Enthusiasm for the Movie
Warner Bros. seems convinced that Reeves is the right filmmaker to next bring Batman to life, and though rumors seem to be flying about the next Batman movie faster than even the most skilled movie reporter can keep up with, Reeves himself is still publicly all in on directing the next Batman film. On Twitter earlier this very month, the director was asked about whether or not he felt Batman, as a project, was progressing to his satisfaction.
Almost without missing a beat — and completely not obligated on any level whatsoever to actually answer the question — Reeves did decide to publicly comment on the question:
Really, really well, thanks! I could not be more excited! ??
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) April 3, 2018
If Reeves thought that he didn't want to keep going with the project or that it wasn't progressing at a pace he was at least a little happy with, he could've very easily stayed silent, with the initial tweet passing like most tweets directed at celebrities usually are. Instead, not only did he answer the question, but he expressed a fair amount of enthusiasm concerning how he thought the movie — and his involvement in it — was moving along.
However things end up shaking out, his tweet likely shouldn't be a reason to hit the proverbial "panic button."
Are Batman's Days Numbered?
All of these factors should basically funnel into this conclusion. If the so-called "DC Extended Universe" is fundamentally re-oriented after the current slate of releases come and go, the only question this really puts into the conversation surrounding Batman is who exactly will play him.
While the perspective of Comics on Film has always been that Ben Affleck has made for a very solid modern Dark Knight at the movies, the actor himself may very well feel that he may not want to put the cowl on again.
If he left the part behind, then Affleck would be one of the actors with the fewest years behind the mask in the character's cinematic history, but the ultimate path of his involvement has yet to be decided either, at least publicly and definitively. While it would be a shame to see Affleck's Batman go before he had a real chance to make his mark on the character felt in a solo film of his very own, it would also likely be beneficial to the project at-large for him to step aside if his heart just isn't in it. But we hope that it is, and that he'll bring the same hard-edged intensity he exhibited with Batman the first time to the next cinematic adventure of one of the world's greatest superheroes.
What do you hope to see from the next Batman movie? Do you want it to be in the DCEU? Maybe you want it to be totally disconnected from everything else? What kinds of villains would you want to see? Robin, or no Robin?
