Rumor: The Batman Is Eyeing Several Major DC Villains

2017 has been a confusing year for DC Extended Universe fans, and the year only promises to grow more complex. Over the past several months, a slew of new film announcements have been released by DC Entertainment, and other films have seen themselves faced with hurdles. Following The Flash‘s loss of another director, news broke that Ben Affleck had stepped down as director on The Batman. The surprising news left Warner Bros. scrambling for a new director which they found in Matt Reeves, but updates about the film have been slow since.

That is, until now. As the Internet is want to do, a series of new DCEU rumors have now popped up online, and the reports have fans reaching for their tin-foil hats.

Over on the r/DCEULeaks thread, fans of DC Entertainment have been served up a fresh new batch of reported film updates. User @WBUT7 published tons of information about the studio’s current line-up of movies which they claim comes from Warner’s office. Many of Warner Brothers’ big comic book films are touched upon in the disposition, but The Batman note kept catching eyes.

Here’s what the report had to say about The Batman as of right now:

“No work has been commissioned on this movie. Apparently Matt Reeves has yet to even start on this, and has to fulfill his commitment on “War for the Planet of the Apes” before working with Ben Affleck. Although there has been rumors of the script being thrown out, there have been rumors around the executives that Matt Reeves wants to incorporate many Batman villains,” the source writes.

“These villains will include Deathstroke, Joker, and Scarecrow. The studio has already been working on Deathstroke (obviously) and has mockups of a potential new Scarecrow.”

This is not the first time The Batman has been rumored to feature a slew of iconic DC villains. Before Ben Affleck exited the film as director, Birth Movies Death reported the film would have a “lived-in” and underbelly feel.

“Many, if not most, members of Batman’s rogue’s gallery will be making appearances in the film,” the site wrote. “It’s going to be crammed with Bat villains, which means that just about every major bad guy you’ve ever wanted to see in a movie will be in this movie.”

Of course, none of the recent rumors surrounding the DCEU have been verified, but the rumors are enough to get fans talking. So far, the DCEU has brought in Joe Manganiello to play Deathstroke while Jared Leto was cast as the Joker for Suicide Squad. No one has been tapped for the Scarecrow yet, but there is a contender out there for the Penguin. Josh Gad has systematically been trolling fans about his possible casting as the pudgy villain, and fans have responded favorably to the idea so far.

MORE DC MOVIE NEWS: Why The DCEU Could Win Big in 2017 / Henry Cavill Continues to Tease DCEU Green Lantern / Justice League Cast Member Says It Won’t Be Better Than Marvel’s Avengers

In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder, from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a story by Snyder and Terrio, and stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons, and Ciarán Hinds.