When James Gunn and Peter Safran took on the challenge of reinventing the DC cinematic universe, they inherited two curveballs. There were two franchises, at the time, that had established their own levels of success, and were deemed “Elseworld” projects – existing outside of the canon that Gunn and Safran were going to establish. One was Todd Phillips’ Joker, which effectively ended its run after the ending scene of Joker: Folie a Deux. But the other was Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which has a sequel on the horizon, and just expanded out with the critically acclaimed HBO series The Penguin. What is Gunn going to do with it?
I ask this because I spent this past week binging The Penguin all over again with my 20-year-old son, P.J., who is home for Thanksgiving break. P.J. grew up with all things Marvel and DC, and loves that type of interconnected, superhero world-building. And he devoured The Penguin, having loved Robert Pattinson’s take on the Caped Crusader, and really embracing the gangster atmosphere created by The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc and her cast and crew. He thought Colin Farrell was awesome as Oz. He loved the additions of Sofia Gigante (the brilliant Cristin Milioti), the expansion of the Falcone story, and the tragedy of Victor.
And as soon as it ended, P.J. told me he couldn’t wait for Superman, because he felt like DC was finally heading in the right direction.
I didn’t have the heart – or the patience – to start explaining how the worlds would not be connected.
Again, my son grew up on this type of storytelling. He came of age during a time that I like to consider the Golden Age of Comic Book Storytelling. He watched Kevin Feige build the MCU, one feature at a time. He went to all of the DCEU movies, even coming with me to watch a 30-second tease for the trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, just so he could get two posters… which he proudly hung on his bedroom wall. He loves this. He understands this.
And even he thinks that Reeves’ Batman stories are part of the new DCU that’s kicking off in December with Creature Commandos.
Right now, the plan is to keep these universes separate. Matt Reeves is hard at work on The Batman: Part 2, which will open in theaters in October of 2026. There are rumors of a second spinoff series potentially being worked on to help fill the gap as fans of this Gotham wait for more stories in the world. Or maybe even a Penguin Season 2? I wouldn’t want them to force anything. The story would have to be as compelling as the narrative we got over the episodes of The Penguin. But it’s possible.
The problem is, James Gunn is eventually going to want to do his own take on Batman. And he has announced what that would be. The Brave and the Bold was part of Gunn’s initial announcement when he and Peter Safran revealed the DCU. The movie will adapt a Batman comic that focuses on Bruce Wayne and his biological son, Damian Wayne. Only, Damian was raised by his mother, Talia al Ghul, and the League of Shadows. So he’s a trained assassin, and a hothead. It’s a new take on Batman and Robin that we haven’t seen in live action. And it might be years before it ever makes it to the screen, because Gunn has said they won’t greenlight it until they have a finished script that he loves. Which makes a ton of sense.
In the meantime, the DCU will start laying groundwork for a developing universe with the animated Creature Commandos show, a live-action Superman movie in 2025, a planned Supergirl movie, Peacemaker Season 2, and a Green Lantern show that just recently ramped up its casting. And I’m fairly confident that many audience members will be like my son, and jump to the conclusion that Robert Pattinson’s Batman is part of this world. Because explaining the concept of an Elseworld story to a non-comic-book reader is confusing.
Do I think that Gunn should just absorb The Batman into his DCU? And that Robert Pattinson should be the Batman who interacts with David Corenswet? No, I don’t think so. I think Gunn should get the opportunity to put his own spin on the Dark Knight. And that Matt Reeves should be allowed to finish what he started, which sounds like it might be a trilogy of films, with a few shows sprinkled in. The market can handle multiple Batman stories.
They just should brace for some confusion, as multiple DC stories enter the marketplace over the next several years.
