James Gunn was a guest on the HAPPY, SAD, CONFUSED podcast and was asked by host Josh Horowitz several questions about THE BATMAN PART II and the status of the DCU Batman. Here are some highlights…
On the script and status of THE BATMAN PART II…
I like it. Yes… We’re headed in the right direction. So there’s some things we still got to work out, but it’s headed in the right direction for sure.
JETT’S TAKE: Just for some context and clarification, Josh said that we know Matt Reeves turned in the script and that Gunn was fond of it. JG then responded with, “I like it. Yes.” Josh then asked JG essentially if it would make its scheduled release date (October 1, 2027), and that’s when Gunn said, “We’re headed in the right direction,” etc. We’re a little over 2 years from that date, and with filming scheduled to begin early next year, I don’t see any reason it won’t be released on time
The one filmmaker Gunn would like to get to join the DCU…
Matt Reeves.
JETT’S TAKE: OK, let’s discuss. Josh immediately said, “You already got him!” and Gunn responded by saying, “He’s not in the DCU.” Horowitz then asked if he’d talked to Reeves about it, and he said yes, he and MR have discussed it. Gunn also mentioned that he likes Reeves because he (along with Greta Gerwig and Ryan Coogler) makes pop films that are still personal and resonate with a large portion of audiences. The question is what DCU project would James Gunn want Matt Reeves to steward? Well…
I do not believe that Reeves’ Batman (played by Robert Pattinson) will be folded into Gunn’s new DCU. Reeves doesn’t want it, Gunn respects the hell out of MR, and both WB and DC Studios want to be in business with Matt Reeves. Would Gunn want Matt Reeves to be in charge of anything involving the DCU Batman? Perhaps. But Reeves is giving us his take on Batman right now with THE BATMAN EPIC CRIME SAGA, so I don’t see him doing that. So, it’s probably as simple as Gunn just wants Reeves to be involved with the DCU. Here’s a thought…
Let me preface by saying I do not believe that it’s going to happen, and I do not want to see it happen. BUT…here is the only way that I’d even remotely give Reeves’ Batman in the form of Robert Pattinson being added to the DCU a chance: If DC Studios (Gunn and Safran) had Matt Reeves be their “Batman Guy” and be a producer with creative say on anything “Batman” in the DCU (and with CLAYFACE, isn’t that kinda already the case?). With that said, I think both Reeves’ SAGA and Gunn’s DCU will be better off if the former remains its own, self-contained thing and the latter is a new take/interpretation of Batman…and I believe that Gunn is pretty much confirming it in this interview.
Will THE BATMAN PART II and the DCU Batman (with the currently-titled THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD movie) hit theaters during the same calendar year?
Probably not. Yeah, probably not, no. Probably not the same calendar year, yeah.
JETT’S TAKE: Good decision. And what’s even a better decision would be to wait on the debut of the DCU Batman until after Reeves’ SAGA is finished with THE BATMAN PART III.
Anyway, this is a very good interview with a lot of interesting stuff from Gunn. Props to Josh for doing a bang-up job interviewing him. CLICK HERE on any of the links provided to check the whole thing out. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
