After Ben Affleck dropped out of “The Batman,” Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne dished out his brand of vengeance away from what was known as the DC Extended Universe. Matt Reeves’ 2022 film wasn’t connected to the mainline continuity, operating in its own pocket. However, after James Gunn took the reins of DC Studios and announced a large-scale reboot (for the most part), many wondered if Battinson would seamlessly transition into this new DC Universe. After all, he had only appeared in one movie, had no storyline ties to other films, and could have easily been integrated into whatever was being built. It would have certainly been a lot easier than the retcon hack job of the Justice League and Justice Gang in “Peacemaker” Season 2.
It soon became clear that this would not be the case, and in an interview with Rolling Stone in June 2025, Gunn confirmed that the decision for Battinson to not be included in the DCU was made by Reeves. He stated that, while there had been discussions over the status of the film behind the scenes, Pattinson’s Dark Knight would exist in what fans affectionately called the Reevesverse, with the DCU set to introduce its own mainline Batman.
During a red carpet interview with Josh Horowitz of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in September 2025, Reeves reaffirmed that “The Batman: Part II” would be an “Elseworlds” film that would not be set in the continuity of the DCU, though he did say that he would be open to directing a film set in that universe. It’s a bizarre set of circumstances, really, because the DCU needs Pattinson’s Batman, and here’s why.
Robert Pattinson’s Batman is revered by fans
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Whenever a new actor is announced as Batman, the internet loses its collective mind, no matter who is cast. The same happened with Robert Pattinson. When news that he had secured the role broke, we endured a torrent of annoying posts on X and elsewhere, many of which referenced his time in the “Twilight” franchise. We’re talking about comments such as, “Is he also gonna sparkle in this movie?”
Pattinson had the last laugh, though, as his version of the Dark Knight turned out to be good. Very good, in fact. “The Batman” received an 85% critical approval rating and an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with countless people singling out his portrayal of Bruce Wayne for specific praise. No longer is there any doubt that he can play the hero, and most people accept he’s one of the best movie versions of Batman — apart from those stubborn “Restore the Snyderverse” fans who are constantly demanding that Ben Affleck returns, even though the actor has said he’s done for good.
It would be one less headache for James Gunn if Battinson was announced as the DC Universe’s Batman. Rather than the furor that’s guaranteed to follow the headline casting of the upcoming DCU Batman movie “The Brave and the Bold,” most fans would likely just say, “Okay, that makes sense. Let Rob cook.” It’s an easy win when trying to unite a fractured fandom that’s still suspicious of the DCU’s intentions after the calamitous decade-plus of weird decisions made by Warner Bros. execs.
The Batman made a lot of money
Gone are the days when superhero films rolled to $1 billion at the box office without much effort. Nowadays, they need to work harder for a fraction of the reward. Having said that, “The Batman” pulled in a super-tidy sum in 2022, making $772 million from a reported $200 million production budget. Why is that a big deal? Well, for two reasons. First off, DC’s stock among audiences was at an all-time low at this point. No one — likely even the executives at Warner Bros. — really knew what was going on in terms of canon, so fans weren’t exactly flocking to see the brand’s movies.
Secondly, “The Batman” came out at the back end of the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 changed the film industry forever: Many people were still hesitant about returning to cinemas at the time, and some never actually bothered going back at all. What’s more, “The Batman” wasn’t an event movie, such as “Avengers: Endgame” or “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” so the fact that it was able to bring in that kind of dough in the circumstances is mightily impressive. Whichever way you look at it, Elseworlds or not, DC movies need to make cash, and folding Matt Reeves’ Batman films into the DCU would have pretty much guaranteed big bucks for the franchise.
The Reevesverse is critically acclaimed
It isn’t only “The Batman” that received lots of love from critics and fans, but also “The Penguin,” the HBO spin-off series set in the Reevesverse. On Rotten Tomatoes, it earned an impressive 95% critical approval rating and an 85% audience score. This isn’t a show that people think is good by comic book adaptation standards — it’s being compared to trailblazing television institutions like “The Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad.”
The eight-episode series also did well at major awards ceremonies. Colin Farrell’s transformation into the Penguin nabbed best performance by a male actor in a limited series, anthology series, or a motion picture made for television at the 2025 Golden Globes, while Cristin Milioti’s turn as Sofia Falcone won outstanding lead actress in a limited series or anthology series or movie at the 2025 Emmy Awards.
This is the type of PR that money can’t buy, establishing the quality and value of this world created by Matt Reeves. Why wouldn’t James Gunn want to maximize this by bringing its characters into the DC Universe’s main continuity? Sure, Matt Reeves might be resistant to such a merger, but Gunn arguably should have pulled rank on him and insisted on adding Battinson to the DCU.
It would remove the need for multiple Batman actors
In 2022, David Zaslav (CEO and President of Warner Bros. Discovery) made it clear that he didn’t want multiple Batman actors running around in the DC Universe. Remember, at this stage, Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck were set to play two Dark Knights in Andy Muschietti’s “The Flash,” while Robert Pattinson was Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ isolated universe. For general audiences, this is a problem. Not every moviegoer is terminally online and devouring news about superhero multiverses and whatnot, so when they see multiple Batman actors across several movies, they think there’s been a recast or a reboot. It’s confusing, to say the least, especially in the era of superhero fatigue.
Yet, what Zaslav wanted to avoid is happening right now in the DCU, as Battinson still exists and a new Batman will be cast for “The Brave and the Bold.” While it isn’t on the same level as before, it’s not an ideal situation to be in. How do you explain to the average, casual moviegoer what’s going on without having to draw out an intricate map? Also, there’s another problem: No matter what happens, comparisons will be made between “The Batman: Part II” and “The Brave and the Bold,” and it could harm one, or even both of those movies. This potential train wreck could have been avoided entirely had Battinson just become James Gunn’s Batman in the DCU.
He would complement David Corenswet’s Superman
Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” and James Gunn’s “Superman” have very different tones — that much is obvious. Although, this is what makes a what-if encounter between Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight and David Corenswet’s Man of Steel that much more enticing. They’re polar opposites: One is darkness, while the other is light. There would be a natural clash between them, as no one could imagine them as Super Friends.
This is exactly what Batman and Superman fans want to see, since it showcases how these two superheroes who are nothing alike are able to work together for the greater good. It isn’t too difficult to imagine Corenswet’s Supes talking about kindness being punk rock, while Battinson grunts, or says he’s more of a My Chemical Romance fan. Okay, Batman doesn’t need to drop a joke here, but the point is there’s an explosive chemistry that’s begging to be tested, as everyone knows both actors would sell it to the audience.
Ultimately, unless there’s a “Crisis on Infinite Earths” storyline on the cards somewhere down the line, it appears like fans will be robbed of the opportunity to see Pattinson’s Bat and Corenswet’s Supes interact on the screen. Again, all of this could have been avoided had Pattinson become the official Batman of James Gunn’s DC Universe, but it was apparently never meant to be, and that’s a real shame.