Variety shared a lengthy story that roadmaps Warner Bros. potential early plans for a new shared Batman universe; one that’s allowed to breathe, unlike Zack Snyder‘s films that were rushed into production to compete against Marvel.
The success of The Joker has signaled creative freedom to the studio, showing that a single character can hold his or her own and that an R-rating is a mere illusion if they back a director-driven film that connects with the audience.
While Todd Phillips’ The Joker (probably) lives in its own universe, Warners is going to use the Matt Reeves-directed The Batman as a possible springboard into several R-rated villain-centric spinoffs. (Remember, studios are reactionary and with success comes more and failure comes less.)
According to the site, “a handful of scenes” in the film will be set at Arkham Asylum, the high-security prison known to comic book fans for housing super-criminals.
“If the movie works, Warner Bros. and DC believe that any of these villains could headline their own spinoff movies.”
It’s also extremely important to note that key cast members in both The Batman and Birds of Prey have contract options to appear in sequels and standalone films.
For those not keeping tabs, Robert Pattinson is locked in as your new Bruce Wayne/Batman, while villains introduced in The Batman will be Riddler (Paul Dano), Penguin (Colin Farrell), and Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz).
Why should horror fans care? Well, the new direction is backed by Walter Hamada, “the longtime New Line executive who was brought on board in 2018 as president of DC Films,” and Warner Bros. film chief Toby Emmerich, with both men having worked together on past New Line hits such as It and The Conjuring.
As the site notes, “Under Hamada and Emmerich, the studio has become more comfortable with backing comic book movies for adults. Joker became the first DC release to nab an R rating, but it won’t be the last. Birds of Prey is also expected to get a similar rating and insiders predict that James Gunn’s upcoming Suicide Squad sequel will also be R-rated.”
Here’s an interesting bit: “Analysts believe the studio has hit upon a smart strategy — 20th Century Fox had backed R-rated comic book movies such as Deadpool and Logan, but after being bought by Disney, which prefers its heroes to be cleaner and less prone to f-bombs, it’s unclear if it will continue to back those type of projects.”
In short, Warner Bros. and DC are going to fill the hole in the marketplace created by Disney’s family-friendly directive. It’s a win-win.
If you want to read more, there’s also chatter about the resurrection of Superman (they spoke with J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot, as well as Michael B. Jordan to star) and Green Lantern, as well as Batgirl and The Flash. They also note that the horror-tinged Aquaman spinoff The Trench is seeking a director, meaning James Wan won’t be getting behind the camera for that one.