Robert Pattinson may be out of the cowl—and one way or the other, that is excellent news.
Rumors are swirling that The Batman Half 2, Matt Reeves’ brooding Gotham follow-up, is quietly slipping into oblivion. No manufacturing begin. No up to date launch date. And now, no assure that Robert Pattinson’s model of the Darkish Knight will ever return. The kicker? This Hollywood ghosting would possibly truly assist James Gunn’s new DC Universe.
Welcome to the Bat-chaos. Inhabitants: us.
What If Killing The Batman 2 Is Really a Energy Transfer?
Let’s be actual: the sequel’s been caught in Bat-limbo for some time. It has been over three years since The Batman hit theaters like a brick of noir-fueled angst, and we nonetheless do not know when the follow-up is coming. Rumors of cancellation aren’t pulled from Reddit fever desires—they’re backed by an ideal storm of real-world pink flags:
- Colin Farrell, Penguin extraordinaire, is sniffing round one other DC position—Sgt. Rock, in Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming conflict flick. (Sure, that is actual. And sure, Daniel Craig was initially connected earlier than bailing.)
- Robert Pattinson? Busy. Too busy. He is filming Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, eyeing a villain gig in Dune 3, and hasn’t even seen a full script for The Batman Half 2. As of March, he claimed the plan was to start out filming after The Odyssey—however with Dune now circling him like a spice-scented vulture, that window is closing quick.
That’s not simply scheduling chaos—it is a warning shot. And for DC Studios? Perhaps a lifeline.
Why James Gunn Might Secretly Be Thrilled
This is the soiled little secret: Gunn’s DCU by no means had a clear spot for Pattinson’s broody Bat. When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios in late 2022, they declared The Batman a part of “Elseworlds”—mainly the cinematic equal of “not my drawback.”
It made sense then. However the longer The Batman 2 stalls, the extra awkward that cut up turns into. You have bought a fan-favorite Batman sitting exterior your shared universe when you’re making an attempt to introduce one other Batman in The Courageous and the Daring. It is model schizophrenia. It is complicated. And it is killing hype earlier than it even begins.
So what if Gunn flips the script?
If The Batman Half 2 dies quietly in growth hell, Gunn might do the unthinkable: fold Pattinson into the DCU and scrap his separate Bat-plan fully.
Would that imply dropping Reeves’ gritty crime saga? In all probability.
Wouldn’t it imply axing The Courageous and the Daring because it’s at the moment imagined? Perhaps.
However would it not remedy the drawback of two Batmen competing for the identical cape? Immediately.
(*2*)The Business Has Performed This Earlier than—And It Labored (Sorta)
Hollywood’s seen this identification shuffle earlier than. Keep in mind when Andrew Garfield’s Wonderful Spider-Man 3 quietly disappeared so Marvel and Sony might fast-track Tom Holland into the MCU? Garfield’s movies had been critically combined however cherished by followers—sound acquainted? The end result: one Spider-Man, one shared universe, billions at the field workplace.
Or how about the chaotic pivot of Zack Snyder’s Justice League imaginative and prescient giving solution to Gunn’s The Suicide Squad reboot? Messy, certain. Nevertheless it confirmed that typically you must burn the previous playbook to get a contemporary begin.
Now, Gunn has that very same probability with The Batman. Commerce status isolation for full integration. Leverage Pattinson’s moody magnetism, however in your sandbox.
This Is not About Tone—It is About Turf
Followers fearful that pulling Pattinson into the DCU would neuter the uncooked, noir-heavy fringe of Reeves’ Gotham must calm down. DC Comics has all the time embraced tonal schizophrenia. Superman shines brilliant. Batman broods. Swamp Factor eats folks.
There isn’t any motive Pattinson’s gravel-voiced detective could not nonetheless lurk by means of a rain-slicked Gotham—and workforce up with Superman when hell breaks free.
The comics have performed it for many years. The movies can too.
So, Now What?
If The Batman Half 2 is quietly being smothered underneath a pile of different priorities, it would not be the first time Hollywood deserted a status challenge for the greater shared-universe payday. However this one would possibly truly work.
One Bat. One DCU. One shot to repair a fractured franchise.
Wouldn’t it be a disgrace to lose Reeves’ Bat-vision? Positively.
However would folding Pattinson into the DCU give Gunn the readability (and Bat-clout) he wants?
Just one solution to discover out.