While recent reports suggest that trouble may be brewing behind the scenes of the still-burgeoning DC Extended Universe – specifically in regards to The Flash losing director Seth Graham-Smith and the vision for Justice League becoming the focus of heated disagreements between Warner Brothers and director Zack Snyder – there seems to be a shining beacon of hope on the DC film front: Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie (which we’re all calling The Batman until WB tells us otherwise).
The film is being directed by Affleck, who will also co-write the screenplay along with DC Comics chief creative officer Geoff Johns. Affleck and Johns reportedly have “full creative control” over the project, and while we don’t yet know when it will arrive or what it will be about, a new rumour suggests that we’ll be seeing a lot of Batman’s infamous rogues.
The new report comes from Birth.Movies.Death’s Devin Faraci, whose unnamed insider sources claim that, “many, if not most, members of Batman’s rogues gallery will be making appearances in the film.” Faraci’s sources go on to explain that Affleck and Johns want to “tell the ultimate Batman story, and to do so they’re going to bring in all the big guns. They’re going to have a big, sprawling Bat universe already in place.”
While this rumour should be taken with the requisite grain of salt, the idea of a fully-formed Bat universe in place by the time The Batman comes out certainly makes sense. After all, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice introduced us to an older, experienced Caped Crusader, and most of Suicide Squad‘s lineup of super villains hail from Batman’s rogues gallery. The DC Extended Universe may still be new, but its version of Batman has been at it a long time, and has likely come across the majority of his villains by now.
While the idea of stuffing the film with “most” of Batman’s villains could show signs of overcrowding, it’s likely that many of those villains will just be cameos. With the right balance, it could work. Perhaps Affleck and Johns will draw some inspiration from Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum games?
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Originally published May 1, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
