When first looking at the rumored line-up for DC Comic's building cinematic universe, it's hard not to notice the surprising lack of Batman. Over the last 25 years or so - and especially in the last 10 - DC has leaned on the Dark Knight like no other hero in their stable, but if the revealed schedule turns out to be true, then the next four years are going to be completely lacking in solo Caped Crusader movies. It's one of the elements that has made many call the "leaked" title roster into question, but if a new rumor is to be believed then we won't have to wait too much longer for the next Batman movie.
Sources have told the folks over at Latino-Review that in addition to movies like Shazam, Sandman, Justice League, Wonder Woman and more coming out over the next four years, we can also expect a new solo Batman movie some time in 2019. Reportedly the working title of the project is The Batman, though obviously at this early stage that could change in a heartbeat, and the project is expected to be the first solo movie for Ben Affleck's version of the legendary vigilante.
The interesting extra bit of information that L-R adds is the possibility that Affleck won't just be working in front of the camera on the rumored film. In their report, they note that Affleck's next directorial effort, Live By Night, is going to be going into production in the summer of 2015 with an October 2016 release date in the crosshairs. If The Batman isn't actually being planned until 2019, the actor-cum-filmmaker could easily take the production by the horns and helm it himself. Whether or not he would be actually interested in the gig is a whole other question, but given his history with and affinity for comics, I wouldn't imagine that he would dismiss the job out of hand. Given that the film is so far away, however, the answer to this question may not be available until years and years from now.
While we may not be getting a solo Batman movie in the next four years, it's not like he's disappearing from the world of features entirely. As the title implies, he will be a huge part of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - coming out in 2016 - and he will of course play a vital part in the upcoming Justice League film, which is rumored to come out in 2017. So, at the very worst we will be going two years without Batman on the big screen, but fans experienced longer gaps than that waiting for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy to unfold.
We can probably expect to hear a lot more about the future of the DC Cinematic Universe at San Diego Comic-Con next month, so stay tuned as more info becomes available in the coming weeks.
