As Robert Pattinson gets ready to make his debut as the Dark Knight in The Batman, the average moviegoer might understandably be confused about what happened to Ben Affleck and if Pattinson is simply taking over his Bat-role in the shared Justice League universe. In short, nope.
While The Batman was initially greenlit to be a solo vehicle for Affleck’s Batman, who would also serve as writer and director, the situation shifted when Matt Reeves stepped in as director followed by Affleck abandoning the role altogether after a grueling experience filming Justice League. With Affleck gone, Reeves had an opportunity to start completely fresh, free from the baggage of the previous films. He took his pitch to Warner Bros. who approved the director creating a separate standalone universe with Pattinson in the cape and cowl for a brand new story.
“Warner Bros. has a multiverse where they’re exploring different ways to use the character … We don’t get involved in that,” The Batman producer Dylan Clark told Empire. “Matt is interested in pushing this character to his emotional depths and shaking him to his core.”
As Warner Bros. has demonstrated with Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, the studio is willing to buck the Marvel movie trend of forcing every comic book film to be connected. Pattinson’s The Batman will exist in its own Bat-universe, which is already starting to expand. At least two spinoff series focusing on Penguin and the Gotham PD have been announced for HBO Max.
The Batman his theaters on March 4.