The Batman is a project in flux – you know it, I know it, and perhaps most of all, the Powers That Be over at Warner Bros. know it, too. A turbulent pre-production resulted in Matt Reeves (War For the Planet of the Apes) coming attached at the helm, only to bow out soon thereafter. Alas, those creative differences were quickly ironed out, and Reeves is back on board with a vision that will seemingly result in a total overhaul of the film’s script.
That’s not terribly surprising given Matt Reeves wants to place his own stamp on the Caped Crusader’s next solo outing, but it does raise questions as to whether the likes of Joe Manganiello (Deathstroke) and J.K. Simmons (Commissioner Gordon) will be involved in The Batman after all. When asked point black, the former recently admitted to being unsure about his involvement in the film, while Simmons, who spoke to Screen Crush about everything from La La Land to last month’s by-now infamous Oscar gaffe, admitted that he isn’t quite sure when his Commissioner will return to the fray.
It’s worth pointing out that the Oscar-winner is simply referring to his uncertainty about Gordon’s next DC appearance after Justice League – The Batman and Justice League 2 being the two candidates – and at least for now, Simmons’ comments aren’t cause for concern.
Per Screen Crush:
“My part in the first film coming out this fall is very, very small… It’s a little introduction of the character. But whenever the next one gets off the ground, whether it’s ‘The Batman’ movie or the ‘Justice League’ sequel, and I know those things are getting shuffled around right now … we thought we might be getting to work pretty soon on ‘The Batman,’ but we’ll see what the future brings. Hopefully, that’ll be another comic-book character that I get to take two or three or four cracks at.”
As expected, it seems as though Commissioner Gordon will indeed have a “very, very small” role in November’s Justice League movie, as Zack Snyder works to introduce this new version of the iconic character.
Without much screentime in Justice League, we’re holding out hope that J.K. Simmons gets the opportunity to reprise his role sooner rather than later. Sources close to Warner Bros. claim The Batman is currently targeting a production start in 2018, though we’ll be keeping you right up-to-date as more information comes to light. Next up for WB is the release of Wonder Woman on June 2nd of this year.
