The Most Exciting New DC Spinoff Has Nothing to Do With James Gunn
The Caped Crusader’s future is cloudy.
Robert Pattinson’s Batman may not be the face of the new DC Cinematic Universe, but that’s not stopping Matt Reeves and his producing partner, Dylan Clark, from expanding their own cinematic world. The duo has tentatively dubbed their franchise the “Batman Epic Crime Saga,” and beyond a sequel to The Batman that’s due in theaters in 2026, Reeves and Clark have ideas for a whole universe of interconnected shows and movies.
First on the slate is The Penguin, a Scarface-esque origin story for the crime boss. The HBO series will reportedly play a crucial role in the Crime Saga, as The Penguin will take place in the immediate aftermath of The Batman, and directly inform the events of The Batman II.
Reeves and Clark are going all-in on other television projects, too. Though a few of their pitches haven’t played out (including a series about the Gotham City PD and Gotham’s supervillain penitentiary, Arkham Asylum), the duo aren’t giving up just yet. Per Reeves, the idea of creating a standalone Batman universe was a huge part of their initial pitch to Warner Bros. and DC.
“As we were writing [The Batman], I was like, ‘Hey, you know what? I think there are some cool shows that we could do,’” Reeves recently told Entertainment Weekly. “It was actually why I wanted to make our deal at Warner Bros.”
Matt Reeves still has plans to expand his Batman universe, starting with The Penguin.
The Batman left the door wide open for plenty of stories to continue. “We’re looking at this entire world as it relates to who Batman is — the antagonists around them, all the crime that has to be navigated in the city — and trying to figure out where are the areas that are best to explore,” Clark said.
It will be interesting to see how their Batverse will compare to the new DCU. James Gunn and Peter Safran, the DCU’s creative co-chairs, are hard at work on their own streamlined universe. Gunn has his own ideas for Batman (some of which include the introduction of a new Robin in The Brave and the Bold), and there’s no telling how his version of the hero will fit into the DCU. But given the reception towards Reeves’ Batman — and fan anticipation for more stories in that universe — the two franchises seem headed for an inevitable clash.
It’s not that DC can’t juggle multiple versions of one character; that’s what the DCU’s “Elseworlds” concept was created for. But with Gunn reshaping the DCU into a franchise similar to Marvel’s, a tangled multiverse just doesn’t serve Warner Bros’ goal of keeping things approachable. It would make much more sense to phase Batman’s Epic Crime Saga into the DCU proper, especially since Gunn is already leaning on Reeves to build out a few Batman-related projects for the main continuity. Combining those two worlds feels like a no-brainer, especially with the DCU still in its early stages. That choice would give fans the best of both worlds, and avoid any unnecessary confusion.
