With THE BATMAN, BLACK ADAM, THE FLASH, and AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, 2022 looks to be a good, and busy, year for DC on film…and I’m not even counting the HBO Max stuff like PEACEMAKER (streaming now) and BATGIRL (potentially a 2022 release).
If you’re a Batman fan like me, you got to be happy that The Dark Knight will be in half of them. It’s like Warner Bros. is going Batman heavy or something, right?
I think we better get used to it.
THE BATMAN is not only the first solo, standalone Batman film since 2012, but it’s also the first entry of THE BATMAN-verse that will feature films on the big screen and prestige streaming series (GCPD, THE PENGUIN, and potentially others) on HBO Max.
In THE FLASH, both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck will appear as their respective versions of The Caped Crusader, with MK’s Batman essentially being the second lead in the film.
When it comes to Keaton, THE FLASH isn’t a one-and-done thing, either as his Bruce Wayne/Batman will also appear in BATGIRL, a DCEU film for HBO Max.
But wait, there’s more…probably.
Ever since it was announced that Keaton would appear in THE FLASH as Batman back in mid-2020, there was talk that he signed a multi-picture deal that would appear in additional DCEU films. BATGIRL is the first, but what’s next? Could another Batman-verse featuring Keaton’s Bruce Wayne and members of the Batman Family — Batgirl, Nightwing, etc. — be on the horizon?
It certainly is looking like it.
Think about it, OK?
THE BATMAN-verse: A grounded, gritty, realistic, and standalone solo Batman film and streaming world focusing on a young — and eventually, in his prime — Batman (Robert Pattinson).
The Keaton Bat-verse: A slightly more fantastical Batman film and streaming world set in the DCEU and focusing on an aged Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) and The Batman Family.
Best of both Batman on film worlds, no?
Sign me up. – Bill “Jett” Ramey