The Complications Of Robert Pattinson’s Batman Joining The DCU

I’ve seen a lot of rumblings circulating about how it may not be out of the question that Matt Reeves/Robert Pattinson’s Batman may end up joining the DCU after all. Previously, this question seemed answered as James Gunn said that it was “Matt’s choice” and that was to keep him as an “Elseworlds” story disconnected from the DCU entirely.

Now, James Gunn said more recently he’d “considered it” but that thought process likely took place a while ago. Then there’s a new rumor from insider Jeff Sneider that Gunn now wants him there, and Pattinson wants to go too. At the very least, Gunn has not explicitly shut down this rumor yet, as he is prone to do with others in the past. Batman rumors Gunn has killed:

• DCU Batman will be middle-aged
• Jensen Ackles is being considered for Batman
• There will be a Joker spin-off like The Penguin

Though not this one yet. Still, his past comments are still the current word on the situation, at least officially. The main problem is that this…doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Currently, the release date of Batman: The Brave and the Bold is October 3, 2025. Even if that was delayed to 2026, as movies often are, that would mean that this movie would come out before Pattinson’s The Batman 2 would even be out as that is moving very slowly. And keep in mind The Brave and Bold is based entirely around the concept of Batman going through a bunch of Robins and now having the current one be his son, Damian Wayne. So The Batman 2, which would release after the Brave and the Bold, would be a flashback from The Brave and the Bold, given that obviously Pattinson is nowhere near that point in his story currently, and The Penguin timeline confirms that. The Batman 2 is supposed to begin right after that show ends.

There’s also the idea that Reeves wants his Batman to stay grounded, and switching him over to the DCU would throw all that out the window. We already have famed Batman villain Clayface getting his own DCU movie (somehow) and as cool as Pattinson Batman and David Corenswet Superman may look together in TikTok edits, that’s really the only thing that this idea has going for it, that it would be cool to see them together.

Yes, it will be sort of weird to have two live-action Batmen simultaneously over the next decade or so, but if this allows The Batman universe to keep doing what its doing with its own timelines and grounded stories, I think we lose more than we gain if we toss that aside just so Pattinson can slide into the DCU. They’d essentially have to kill The Brave and the Bold entirely to make this work.

This will all end the moment Gunn announces casting for DCU Batman, and I do not think it’s going to be Pattinson, that’s for sure. I will eat my words if somehow this does come to pass, but it really does not make sense in the present moment.

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