Batman seems safe as James Gunn assures fans of the Caped Crusader’s DCU role

DC fans have been in an uproar for the last few days over James Gunn’s shakeup of Warner Bros.’ live-action lineup. The new DCU head seems to be wiping the slate clean, cancelling Wonder Woman 3, reportedly recasting Jason Momoa as Lobo, and – most controversially – deciding that Henry Cavill won’t be returning as Superman after all.

But what of Batman? Warner Bros. currently has three versions of the character in live-action: Ben Affleck is set to return in The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Michael Keaton will reprise his ’89 version of the character in The Flash, and Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves are in the early stages of developing a sequel to The Batman.

Now it sounds like something else may be in the works, after Gunn responded to a fan inquiry on Twitter:

Judging by his recent decisions, we predict Gunn will ditch Affleck and Keaton by the end of 2023 and move forward with a new DCU Batman separate from Pattinson’s. We know he’s going to focus on a younger version of Superman, so perhaps his story might dovetail with a Dark Knight at the start of his crime-fighting career.

The only wrinkle is that this would be very close to the Reeves’ version of the character. Perhaps the best way forward would be for the DCU Batman to be present in other movies, with the Reeves’ Batman getting solo movies until they wrap up their trilogy.

Untangling all this sounds like a headache, but after the chaos and confusion of the last few years, we’re cautiously excited about Gunn’s creative vision. We just wish it had room for Cavill’s Superman.