This shouldn’t come as no surprise: THE BATMAN Director Matt Reeves has a standalone “Batverse” (I’ve been using the term “THE BATMAN-verse” here on BOF) planned.
With THE BATMAN hitting theaters/cinemas in a matter of a few weeks and two HBO Max spinoff series — one focused on the Gotham City Police Department and the other centered on Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepott — the ball is certainly rolling.
The following quote comes from the aforementioned Mr. Reeves on this topic via What’s On Dubai. “I wanted to create an autonomous universe,” Reeves said, “a ‘Batverse’ that, in its own way, could be definitive.” He continued…
There was a point with the movie where the script was getting longer, and I thought So what was important for me was to set out an arc for this character that would be an arc we haven’t seen in the films before, because we had to find a way to make this story mine… The hope is that the world that we’ve created is something that draws people in; that people get engaged in this character; and then that will mean that there’ll be more stories. And so in that sense, there could be a chapter one. But as a movie, it’s the entire story.
Of course, all of this hinges on how the audience receives THE BATMAN. Personally, I’m not concerned in the least. Why? Well, it’s BATMAN — and a solo Batman movie at that — and the character is pretty darn popular. Also, I know some folks who have seen the final version of the film and all have raved about it — the word “brilliant” was used more than once to describe the film.
On the same note, Reeves told TOTAL FILM (if you haven’t read their feature article on THE BATMAN, do so — it’s great) that THE BATMAN is 100% a self-contained story. But that doesn’t mean that more is not planned for the future…
What was important for me was to set out an arc for [Batman] that would be an arc we haven’t seen in the films before… and that’s what we’ve done. The hope is that the world we’ve created draws people in; that the people get engaged in this character; and then that will mean that there’ll be more stories. And so in that sense, [THE BATMAN] could be a chapter one. But as a movie, it’s the entire story.
Personally, a standalone Batverse on film without non-Batman DC characters is something I’ve LONG wanted to see. We kinda got one with THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY, but nothing like what Warner Bros. and Reeves have planned on the big screen, streaming, and other mediums.
It’s a good time to be a Batman fan. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
THE BATMAN hits theaters on March 4, 2022. Follow BOF’s Everything About THE BATMAN Page. Make plans to attend BOF’s THE BATMAN Watch Party.
