Warner Bros. has just announced dates for some of its upcoming DC movies, including The Batman, which will not have Ben Affleck in the title role, reported IGN.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed Matt Reeves’ The Batman on June 25, 2021, following a recent interview with Matt Reeves about the plot, the movie’s villains, and more. Meanwhile, Deadline reports that, after months of speculation, Ben Affleck will not star as Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a reported intention of focusing on a younger Bruce in the film.
Affleck also tweeted following the news, saying “Excited for #TheBatman in Summer 2021 and to see the @MattReevesLA vision come to life.” Variety and THR have reported that sources indicate Affleck’s tweet is him bidding farewell to the role.
According to Variety, WB is very happy with Reeves’ early drafts of the Batman film.
Additionally, DC Super-Pets will open on May 21, 2021, while a new Suicide Squad is set for an August 6, 2021 release.
The Suicide Squad, which Variety is referring to as a “reboot” following the 2016 film, is actually set to be written and directed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2 director James Gunn, and we spoke about why DC hiring Gunn for Suicide Squad is such a good fit.
This Batman solo film has had a turbulent development process. In 2017, Ben Affleck said he would be directing a Batman film. It was later confirmed Affleck would not be directing the film, but would still produce and act in the project. Later rumors have suggested that Affleck will finish his run in the DC Extended Universe as Batman in Suicide Squad 2.
Reports of an animated DC Legion of Super-Pets movie arose last year. The Super-Pets team first appeared all together in Adventure Comics #293 in Feb. 1962.