Robert Pattinson's days as Batman are numbered, says James Gunn
The legit DCU version of Batman won't be played by Pattinson
Batman Part II will be Robert Pattinson’s last — at least for now — major live action role as Batman, according to James Gunn.
Gunn, who is co-head of DC Studios, said “it’s certainly not the plan” to bring Pattinson into the DCU, reports IGN.
How can Batman, probably the most popular DC character, not be part of the proper DC cinematic universe? You can blame the long timescales involved in making movies.
Batman Part II was announced in April 2022, and current DC heads Peter Safran and James Gunn were only announced as such in October 2022. So short of the second Batman film (in this run) being cancelled entirely, they’ll have to trudge through this second Pattinson film before being able to put their own stamp on the character.
What is DCU's Batman?
But when will that even happen? Gunn has also confirmed Batman Part II doesn’t even have a script yet, but the plan is still to film it this year. It’s currently pencilled in for October 2027. So presumably "new" Batman will arrive some time after that.
DC co-head Peter Safran says the new vision for Batman will come from The Brave and the Bold.
“We've got to introduce a Batman into the DCU,” Safran said. “That's imperative. So that's the plan with The Brave and the Bold.”
The Brave and the Bold is an upcoming film to be directed by Andy Muschietti. Earlier reports suggest it will be based on a 2006 run of the Batman comics, Batman and Son, in which Batman realises he has a son, with Talia al Ghul.
It’s a story by Grant Morrison, in which a very angry kid becomes a rather troubled Robin.
“He was raised as a little murderer and assassin. He’s my favorite Robin. We’re putting it all together right now,” James Gunn said back in 2023 of these plans (via ComicBook).
Given how long ago that was, though, perhaps plans have since changed. And with this film presumably planned for some time after 2027's Batman Part 2, there's a long wait ahead even in a best case scenario.
The DCU will finally get its proper start this year, with July’s Superman. Once known as Superman: Legacy, it will see the caped hero taken on by David Corenswet, who you might have seen in Twisters or 2022’s Pearl.
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