The Batman Production and New Actor Announcement Rumored to Be Delayed

The world has been waiting to find out who the new Batman will be in DC and Warner Bros.' movie franchise after Ben Affleck officially bowed out of the role. Since learning that director Matt Reeves is getting set to shoot the next Batman solo film later this year, it's been expected that DC/WB would have to announce their new Batman sooner before later. But that might be "later" rather than "sooner" at this point.

In fact, a recent rumor pointed to the new Batman actor being revealed as soon as this week. Now a new rumor is floating to the surface, and it echoes that a new Batman casting announcement is indeed coming -- just not when fans think.

Here's a small BATMAN update for you: hearing the script is still being polished up and that there's a possibility shooting begins at the top of 2020 instead of fall 2019. Which means it'll probably still be a minute before we find out who the next Caped Crusader will be

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 2, 2019

Per a tweet from Variety's Justin Kroll: "Here's a small BATMAN update for you: hearing the script is still being polished up and that there's a possibility shooting begins at the top of 2020 instead of fall 2019. Which means it'll probably still be a minute before we find out who the next Caped Crusader will be"

Kroll's rumor speaks to earlier reports that The Batman would start shooting in December. In fact, Matt Reeves himself went on Twitter and confirmed that production timeline, telling one inquiring fan, "Looking like sometime around year's end." The notion that The Batman script (which has been a stop-and-go hurdle since the days of Affleck working on it) would need yet another coat of polish isn't exactly far-fetched, nor is a production start delay pushing things to early 2020 instead of holiday season 2019. Unfortunately, that means it's just as likely that the casting announcement for the new Batman won't be announced until later.

Then again, if DC/WB already has the actor in mind (and we've been hearing rumors of a shortlist of names for some time now), it would definitely give its DC movie franchise some much-needed momentum right now. With Marvel currently eating up the pop-culture landscape with the game-changing Avengers: Endgame, dropping word of the new Batman now may not be a bad idea. Or maybe it's better to wait! I suppose we'll see.

Shazam is now in theaters, Joker hits theaters on October 4th, Birds of Prey on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, and The Batman on June 25, 2021.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we explore Game of Thrones' long night, talk more Avengers: Endgame, live-action Sonic the Hedgehog, and more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!