A Cinematic Batman Family?
Whilst everything regarding Matt Reeves’s The Batman is up in the air at the moment, rumor had it that it was originally being tooled as a grounded crime drama with a Red Hood/Jason Todd-centric story line. If this is still the case, it’s a safe bet that The Batman will explore Todd’s days under Batman’s wing. Plus, it would probably include heavy references to his other protégés too. Indeed, with Joss Whedon at the helm of a Batgirl film, and Chris McKay directing a Nightwing solo movie, the trajectory of the Dark Knight seems to be becoming clearer: a cinematic meetup of the Bat and his family might be on the way.
It makes a whole lot of sense for Warner Bros. to traverse this avenue. The LEGO Batman Movie did well at the box office because it offered something new to moviegoers. This was the chance to see a witty and meta-textual take on the hero, who gradually learned to open up for his friends and family. Aside from Joel Schumacher’s decidedly middling attempts in the late 1990s, we haven’t seen a fully-formed, live-action Batman Family on our cinema screen before.
So, having a Batman who’s willing to play with others would definitely cater to this need for freshness. Putting Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson and co. into Warner Brothers’ burgeoning franchise would be a good way to reinvigorate the DCEU’s Caped Crusader. And it would ensure that these new movies differ from Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan’s days.
Furthermore, expanding Batman’s world wouldn’t be that much of a financial risk for the studio, either. Having several characters with Batman-esque iconography is a good way to attract audiences to their local multiplexes. After all, Batman himself is one of the most popular superheroes in the world.
So, whilst the future of the DCEU is far from clear after Justice League, there’s a strong chance that everything might not be so grim in Gotham going forward.