James Gunn sets record on Matt Reeves’ Batman and his DC plans

Early this morning, Variety initially reported (via its unnamed sources) that James Gunn and Peter Safran were allegedly considering making Matt Reeves’ The Batman a part of their official DC Cinematic Universe, despite it originally being a standalone movie. If that’s true (spoiler alert, it’s not), it would essentially turn Batman into a cornerstone of the Gunn-Safran era at DC Films, just like Iron Man was for the burgeoning Marvel Cinematic Universe.

To be fair, it’s not hard to imagine why the two filmmakers potentially considered such a course of action, or why Variety’s Adam B. Vary (the reporter who published the story) found such a leak potentially viable. Aside from the fact that this story barely compares to the many bewildering rumors that have yet to be debunked coming out of an overburdened studio, The Batman performed incredibly well as a critically as well as commercially. In addition, one additional series (Penguin by Colin Farrell on HBO Max) and a sequel is already planned. In other words, if they’re not going to include Batman projects in the future of their DC Universe, what exactly are they going to do with them?

So Vary’s report still reveals what led Gunn himself to reveal the future of the studio’s most successful current franchise.