I'm pretty convinced at this point that Battinson will be in the DCU, but it still boggles my mind there's a chance they could cast another actor, and that just doesn't make any sense to me?
I've heard so many people say that Robert Pattinson is the most comic accurate live action Batman to date, and currently we have arguably the most comic accurate Superman... why wouldn't you want to see those two on screen together?
Because I know it's probably bound to happen: I will block comments that say it shouldn't happen. Why? I'll know that whoever comments that didn't read through everything. I also just don't want to deal with circular arguments, because I will be addressing all the points I've seen. To be clear, I'm okay with people disagreeing with me. But simply commenting, "it shouldn't merge," or, "you're wrong," tells me the person leaving a comment like that is just looking for a fight. I like conversations. I don't like circular arguments.
Why do I think the merge is happening?
1. When James Gunn was asked which director he'd like to bring into the DCU, he said his number one pick is Matt Reeves.
2. James Gunn has said he wants all the projects to feel wildly different from each other, because he wants creatives to be able to fulfill their visions. Clayface is going to be a rated R body horror film made by professional horror filmmakers... that's going to be quite the clash with James Gunn's projects, especially Superman.
3. While Matt Reeves did say he had personal reasons for delaying the script for The Batman Part 2, the release date is still lining up perfectly with the launch of the DCU.
4. Within 8 weeks of James Gunn reading The Batman Part 2, he wrote Man of Tomorrow's script in 8 weeks. That's ridiculously fast, and why did he wait until right after he got Reeves' script?
5. The Batman Part 2 and Man of Tomorrow are filming literally at the exact same time next year in April.
6. Both movies are releasing the same year.
7. Matt Reeves has only attached his name to Clayface and Brave and the Bold, which are Batman related projects. I'm just saying, if those projects had no attachment to Battinson, there'd be no reason for him to only be a producer on those two movies and then not produce any other DCU project. There's a reason he's only a producer on Clayface and Brave and the Bold, and it could be because they're connected to his trilogy 👀
8. It doesn't make sense financially to cast another Batman. If they cast another actor, they will be paying two leads on top of a supporting cast with possible duplicates, as well as two whole production teams. DC Studios is going to be paying for a lot of actors and production workers.
If they do cast two actors, they will essentially be paying double in: actor contracts, production teams, and marketing.
Now why is that a concern?
Going to the movies is expensive now, so people are already selective on what they go watch. If you have two Batman movies, most people are going to choose one of them to see in theaters, and maybe wait for streaming for the other one, if they even have any interest. The studio would be spending double on producing two movies with an even higher risk of splitting the box off numbers. While audiences shouldn't worry about that, studios do worry about it. I find it so highly unlikely James Gunn is going to risk it by casting another actor. He made Suicide Squad and Peacemaker season 1 work. He can make The Batman work.
I want to talk about the positives first, and why I truly believe they have a masterpiece on their hands.
- The character arc. I mean, come on. Clark and Bruce dedicated their superhero identities to what they believe their parents would want of them. They learn their parents weren't who they thought they were, and Bruce and Clark have to forge a path they believe in. For Clark, that's doubling down on his core beliefs, while Bruce realizes he needs to help Gotham heal. They literally have the same story arc in regards to their parents.
- Symbols of Hope. Clark's never ending kindness and hope inspires other characters to step up and help in ways that are within their capabilities. He never asked it of anyone. He simply inspires other people to stand up and help those who need it. By the end, the other characters finally saw what it is Superman was fighting so hard for, and they simply do what needs to be done.
Bruce started on a path of vengeance, which inspires the oppressed to take their anger out on the whole of the city, despite the fact that many people in Gotham are good, even if the city as a whole is corrupt. When Bruce is confronted with the direct impact of his actions in the form of the Riddler, he deliberately chooses to become a symbol of Hope, to help Gotham heal. You literally could not have a better setup for a Batman and Superman to appear on screen together with that aspect alone.
- Bruce and Clark are in their superhero fatigues for a good 80% of their respective movies. Man of Steel altered the perception of Superman. I didn't know anything about Superman until I saw Man of Steel, and I avoided the character because I believed that he was this stoic, angsty, godlike figure, and I hated it. It's through James Gunn's Superman I discovered the character's humanity. That's what that movie was all about. Superman is already more human than most of the characters in the DCU - it's the audience who rediscovered the humanity in Superman, by going on his superhero journey.
In The Batman, Bruce lost his humanity. Bruce no longer existed - he became totally engrossed in The Batman and his goals. When we do see Bruce emerge from The Batman, he's a shell. He doesn't know who Bruce is. He doesn't want to know who Bruce is. The movie shows the audience how Bruce rediscovers his own humanity.
- Lois knows Clark's secret, and she tells him that he trusts everyone. Selina doesn't know Batman's secret, and she tells him he sees the worst in people... it's so stupidly on the nose how perfect the parallels and contrasts are.
- I need David Corenswet and Robert Pattinson to do press junkets together. It would be utter chaos in all the best ways. They're both so weird and so passionate.
Also, they have an incredible understanding for their characters. I could see these two sitting down and talking for hours about all the nuances of Bruce and Clark's dynamics. And, honestly, I've never heard anyone talk about Batman the way Robert talks about him. He doesn't see Batman as a superhero - he sees Bruce as a tragic figure who succumbs to incredibly unhealthy habits. I just don't see how anyone could be a better fit for another actor who also sees the vulnerabilities of his own character. David Corenswet talks about the deep loneliness Clark has, something I haven't really seen other actors talk about either. The dream team is right there!
I'm sure there are more reasons I'm forgetting for why these two renditions of the characters are perfect for each other, but I want to move onto points I've seen for why it "wouldn't work." I know people have concerns about Matt Reece's' Batman merging into the DCU. I'll go through the ones I remember off the top of my head.
- "There are no metahumans in Reeves' Batman movie."
That's fair, but there's a way to transition Battinson into the larger universe. From what I've gathered in the Superman movie and other DCU projects, while there are metahumans, they don't seem to be widely common. The Boravian government, which is funded by Lex Luthor, is not equipped to any capacity to fight off metahumans. Metahumans also seem to keep their heads down and don't really get involved in politics or cause many problems for world leaders. The world was shocked by Superman interfering with the Boravian invasion. In addition to that, from what we've seen, regular people aren't afraid of metahumans. Sure, there are bigoted characters, like the ones who work for Lex, but on the whole the average citizen isn't all that phased by metahumans, and even accept them. I mean, one guy throws a can at Superman. You could make the argument that it's because they trust Superman, but... at that moment no one really does, and if metahumans had presented themselves as a more common threat, people wouldn't be jeering at Superman like they did after the message reveal.
The few metahumans we've seen who are actually in prison are there because they were misunderstood and cast aside by society, or taken advantage of by other people. Not to mention, to even control metahumans, ARGUS had to plant a kill-switch in the Suicide Squad's brains. Otherwise, the government doesn't seem equipped to deal with metahumans. Even Lex was only really able to control Rex because he kidnapped Joey and threatened to murder him. If it wasn't for the child, it doesn't seem like Lex had any way to control Rex. He probably would've had to kill Rex or never mess with him in the first place. The point I'm making is that with how flimsy the control over metahumans seems to be, you'd think more metahumans would be causing issues if they really did present any danger to society. This all tells me they tend to get dragged into shitty situations, and otherwise seem to stay out of trouble if they can help it.
In Peacemaker season 2, we only see one metahuman outside of the Justice Gang, which, again, proves my point there aren't many metahumans in the DCU. All of these details could perfectly explain that metahumans on the whole may not want to mess with Gotham, because the people of Gotham could incredibly unwelcoming, so why would they want to put themselves in dangerous situations? If metahumans aren't interested in power, which seems to be the case given the evidence I provided, then it makes sense they wouldn't be involved in crimes, and would ultimately lead them to avoid a place like Gotham. The Batman has a little pocket it can slip right into, and Matt Reeves can slowly start incorporating more fantastical elements into his projects.
- "The Batman doesn't have advanced tech."
Actually... yes. It does. Bruce created a contact lens that he could use to talk to Selina. There isn't an earpiece or anything that he provides her. Beyond having audio communication capabilities, the contact lens is able to record audio damn near perfectly, and to download hours of data to a computer. He just has to slap the lens on a scanner with no audio issues. That's pretty freaking advanced.
That's while Bruce barely thought about Wayne Enterprise. I can imagine that when he puts more effort into the company, he can build more advanced tech that's more on par with ARGUS, or maybe Mr. Terrific.. The car he drove was pretty advanced, too.
The DCU isn't as technologically advanced as people believe it is. When Lex meets with the government officials, he has to explain to them what nanites are. Between him and Mr. Terrific, everyone else seems to have technology that's similar to our world. People have regular phones, computers, cars, TVs, etc. Even Boravia, which was funded by Lex, has regular tanks and artillery.
In Peacemaker... well, I'll avoid spoilers, but it's revealed that Auggie didn't invent the tech he and Chris use, and the government had to seek out experts to work that advanced equipment.
I'd argue that technology wise, The Batman is right on par with how advanced the DCU is.
- "The Batman is too grounded."
So, actually, grounded just means that no matter how batshit crazy the world is, the characters will have very realistic human emotions and reactions. People tend to mean "realistic vs fantastical." This would mean that Superman 2025 is actually quite grounded, because the movie is STEEPED in human emotions and realistic reactions.
Now, when it comes to fantastical elements, The Batman is on par with the DCU, particularly Peacemaker season 2. Bruce crash lands onto pavement and he walks away with some bruising and no real injuries. In the end of the car chase scene, Bruce is able to get over the car crash and through the fire purely because a slanted semi timed up perfectly for him to use as ramp to launch over the wreckage. That's quite literally straight out of a comic book.
Clayface is going to be a rated R body horror movie. James Gunn has said he wants all the projects to feel different from his movies and shows. That argument falls flat in that regard, sorry. Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather see a Batman that clashes with Superman. It's the same way in how I want Vigilante and Superman to meet. Them not fitting together at all is infinitely more interesting to me than having a Batman that blends in perfectly with Superman. That's not an interesting dynamic if they immediately fit together. I want to watch them grow together.
- "The timeline doesn't work because Batman is in Creature Commandos, so we already saw Batman take down a metahuman."
Actually, nope. Sure, Batman made a quick appearance, but that's literally it. We didn't see how he defeated the metahuman. He could've very well brought an ARGUS team with him who were actually equipped to deal with metahumans. The Batman Part 2 can easily incorporate elements to transition Battinson into being more equipped to deal with metahumans. James Gunn basically cherry-picked what's canon and what's not from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker season 1. There's no reason Matt Reeves can't do the same thing. And it's not like Superman and Batman have to be on screen together in the next three movies. Matt Reeves can continue to flesh out his Batman and merge him organically in the larger picture of the DCU. We probably won't hear about a Batman and Superman crossover for at least another 3 or 4 years.
- "James Gunn and Matt Reeves already said it's not happening."
They did not in fact say that. The most they've said is that The Batman Part 2 is an Elseworld protect, but they could be saying that to trick people. Reeves even went as far as to say he's open to anything. Beyond that, James Gunn is a liar. He's kind of a little shit, tbh, which I personally find hilarious. When Gunn was asked about the parallels of Peacemaker season 2 and ICE, he literally just grinned and said, "nope. This could never happen in the real world." It's not an exact quote - I tried finding it and I don't know where I saw it. I'm a little a little mad about it to be honest. He also said there were no parallels between Jarhanpur and Palestine, but the way he said it... yea. That was the PR answer. This guy knows how to keep his mouth shut. I don't trust them, especially James Gunn, to tell the truth about anything regarding the merge or future projects.
- "James Gunn will ruin Matt Reeves' vision."
Um... no. This isn't the MCU, where project heads will be forced to fit inside a box. James Gunn only cares about good, complete scripts. He cares about good movies. He's even talked about how he doesn't want to place constraints on the creative teams like he experienced working in the MCU. He WANTS every project he doesn't write or direct to feel unique. He wants to preserve the creatives' visions. That means he's not going to mess with Matt Reeves. And Matt Reeva can do both. He can fulfill his vision AND incorporate Battinson into the DCU. I'll bet James Gunn will let directors and writers have creative control in crossover projects, just so the characters feel consistent across DCU projects.
I could probably keep going on and on about why I'm a firm believer in the merge, but I've already yapped enough. I'm hoping that's what James Gunn and Matt Reeves have been planning. I genuinely don't know how they could set up better parallels and contrasts than what already exists between The Batman and Superman 2025. Superman felt like it was written to be a mirror to The Batman in every regard.