Robert Pattinson will not be DCU’s Batman; what does this mean for the Caped Crusader’s future?

It’s official! Robert Pattinson’s Batman is not a part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU plans. As per reports, Pattinson will not be playing the Caped Crusader for The Brave and the Bold which is an upcoming DC Studios film set in James Gunn's completely new DCU continuity. The film based on the comic book of the same name will focus on a new incarnation of Batman and his son Damian Wayne.

Does DCU’s Batman belong in the same universe as Matt Reeves’ Batman?

Speaking during a DC Studios presentation co-chiefs Safran and Gunn said Pattinson will play Batman in director Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, dubbed The Batman Epic Crime Saga, only. “It's certainly not the plan,” Gunn said about the possibility of Pattinson ever joining the DCU. “It's certainly not the plan. No.” 
“And we love him, but we've got to introduce a Batman into the DCU,” Safran added. “That's imperative. And so that's the plan with The Brave and the Bold.”

This revelation comes weeks after a recent interview at Golden Globes by The Batman filmmaker Reeves, who was asked about the speculation that Robert Pattinson might be added into the DC Universe. “I don’t know. We’ll have to see where that goes,” Reeves had said.

“It really comes down to whether or not it makes sense,” Reeves said at the Golden Globes. “What’s been great is there was a story that I wanted to tell with what we’re calling The Epic Crime Saga and all that, which is the thrust of what we want to do. And it’s been important to me to be able to play that out. And James and Peter have been really, really great about that and they’re letting us do that.”

Safran reiterated that both he and Gunn love Reeves’ vision for The Batman Part 2 and are looking forward to this film. Last year, The Batman Part 2 was delayed once again and it’s now scheduled for a 2027 release. 

The Batman introduced Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne three years ago in March 2022 and the film managed to make $722 million. And while a sequel was greenlit pretty soon, Reeves seems to be taking his time with the script. “He is yet to turn in a full script, but what we have read so far is incredibly encouraging,” Safran said Friday. DC Studios’ big test will be this summer’s Superman, which Gunn wrote and directed as the division’s inaugural film.