A new rumor suggests that 2019 will see four separate movies based on Batman characters released. Warner Bros. will probably never stop making Batman movies. Ever since the 1989 Tim Burton-directed feature effectively “invented” the modern-day superhero movie genre, the studio has maintained a constant state of either producing or actively developing for production one Batman-related project or another - even as the genre and series have risen and fallen in popularity.
That push remains stronger than ever as the studio looks to build its DC Extended Universe - and despite its mixed success with the DCEU so far, the studio remains very much in the Batman business. Now, a far-out set of rumors, all of which would be major announcements if true, suggest that the studio is planning to mark what will be the 80th anniversary of the Batman character, by releasing four separate feature films set in and around the Batman franchise.
These rumors come from the “DCEU Leaks” reddit forum (via the 4chan message boards) and read as follow:
This would potentially be setting a record for the most superhero films connected by a single character in one year; specifically, the rumored slate would have the Harley Quinn-centered Gotham City Sirens hitting Valentine’s Day Weekend, the Nightwing spin-off targeting Memorial Day, Batgirl (a potential Joss Whedon project) arriving in August and The Batman capping off the year in November. With the various projects reportedly playing with including other Bat-family members, such a release gambit would make sense.
The plan for 2019 is to release four Batman related films. Gotham City Sirens around Valentine’s Day weekend, Nightwing on Memorial Day weekend, Batgirl in August and The Batman in November. The studio is doing this to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Batman.
The Batman film will still have Deathstroke but not as a main villain. Matt Reeves wants to do a larger scale Batman film that will include the Bat family as well as most of Batman’s rogues.
In addition, two Batman animated films are also planned for 2019. One will be an adaptation of The Long Halloween.
Grant Wilson might be the villain for the Nightwing solo film. He is hired by Roland Desmond to take out all the mob bosses in Blüdhaven.
Suicide Squad 2 or Dark Universe will most likely be taking Aquaman’s previous release date.
Mel Gibson is no longer the front runner to direct the Suicide Squad sequel. Jaume Collet-Serra and Ruben Fleischer are now the top candidates. The script is currently being written with a story pitch given by Ayer. Killer Frost will be the new female lead to replace Harley Quinn.
The Dark Universe script is going through final rewrites. Guillermo Del Toro’s old treatment was used as a base and was rewritten to connect to the universe. If Liman is ready, filming could start as early as summer.
Four movies are also planned for 2020. Warner Bros wants to do two low budget/smaller scale films and two big budget/larger scale films per year.
Jonathan Levine is in talks to direct The Flash. The film will most likely release in 2020.
Matthew Vaughn will most likely write the Man of Steel sequel if he takes on the directional duties.
The rest of the rumors, which have so far drawn no direct response from Warner Bros, deal with the likes of Suicide Squad 2 and Dark Universe, one of which could be fast-tracked for a 2018 release as previously reported. It’s worth taking them with a pinch of salt given their origins, but 4chan can sometimes be on the money. With DC juggling dozens of in-development projects, there’s sure to be more rumblings and announcements in the coming months.
Source: Reddit
Next: Why the Batgirl Movie Should Include Batman – Sparingly
- Justice League Release Date: 2017-11-17 The Batman Release Date: 2022-03-04 Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 The Flash Movie Release Date: 2023-06-23 wonder woman Release Date: 2017-06-02