Can Robert Pattinson's Batman Appear In The DCEU?
Matt Reeves' successful Batman revamp was praised by critics and fans alike, but it seems the director prefers to keep his distance from other DC titles.
Robert Pattinson did a great job portraying the orphaned millionaire Bruce Wayne, who stalks Gotham City criminals at night, and Warner Bros. seems to have turned its attention to this auteur-driven project, released earlier this year. With the DCEU struggling to keep up with competition from the MCU, David Zaslav and his production team are willing to do almost anything to save the franchise, including asking Reeves and Pattinson for the latter's inclusion in some other DCEU films. This could prove to be a tricky deal, as Pattinson is notoriously busy and certainly doesn't want to bind himself to contractual commitments for the next couple of years.
Debating the issue on Reddit, fans put forth some interesting ideas about Pattinson's Batman in the DCEU, arguing that Reeves' film could be included in the main timeline thanks to one important retcon.
"I think it depends on how aggressive they want to be and how many films Reeves wants to do. I don’t think he has any interest in doing that outside of maybe in a 3rd film. But his trilogy could take place in the early DCU, much like Year One/Long Halloween/Dark Victory in the comics." – /AgentOfSPYRAL.
Others are confident that Warner Bros. will demand more by asking for Pattinson's direct involvement in other films, and perhaps the creative team can come to a consensus if the studio doesn't try to appropriate Reeves' creation.
"I think the studio is probably negotiating with Reeves and Pattinson to use their version of Batman in team up films. Probably an agreement along the lines of: WB can use Pattinson Batman in team ups, but Reeves doesn’t have to acknowledge those films in the trilogy, and the studio can’t kill off Batman characters in team up films without consulting him." – /BatoftheFuture.
But some still believe that the world created by Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves will remain completely independent of the DCEU, with them continuing to build their universe separately.
"The whole deal was that his Batman is on his own, completely separate of everything from DCEU. They won't try to mess with something that made his Batman work. It's also the same reason why Phillips' Joker movie isn't canon to Reeves' Batman. It's meant to be their own thing." – /TheDarkPinkLantern.