The DCU Is Better Off Without More Batman Movies for Awhile

They weren’t unexpected pieces news, but still, the final days of December 2024 were rough for Batman fans. First came the development that the Matt Reeves-directed The Batman: Part II was postponed a whole year to 2027. Then, director Andy Muschietti confirmed that the DC Universe’s Batman feature The Brave and the Bold had been delayed for the foreseeable future. A pair of solo Batman projects once thought of as near-future silver-screen spectacles now occupy a place in the distant future, if they even happen at all.

For those who have Batman: Arkham City posters draped across their walls or own shelves lined with Batman Forever McDonald’s cups, these delays are crushing. Once a staple of your local multiplex, Batman is now destined to linger in the shadows for eons to come. Still, there are some advantages to these developments, especially for the burgeoning DC Universe. Needless to say, this fresh cinematic universe does not need more Batman movies, at least initially.

The DC Universe Needs to Focus on Other Characters

Two movies into the DC Extended Universe, Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman emerged in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Immediately, the ground floor of this saga was built around the Caped Crusader. Affleck’s Batman would either show up on screen or get referenced through text in the next three DC Extended Universe titles. After that, his presence was more sporadic, with Affleck only reprising his role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and for an uncredited tiny appearance in The Flash. Still, Batman and the DC Extended Universe were now permanently intertwined.

Over the seven years between Dawn of Justice and The Flash, Bruce Wayne and/or Batman would appear in a slew of other animated and live-action theatrical films ranging from Joker to DC League of Super-Pets. Even with recent titles like Blue Beetle and Shazam!, theatrical DC film adaptations tend to lean on Batman and his mythos more often than not. For the new DC Universe, then, it’s time for something different. The vision of these characters spearheaded by James Gunn and Peter Safran needs to emphasize fresh characters previously unadapted into live-action.

That already seems to be the plan for this franchise, given that a Clayface movie is scheduled for September 2026 while a solo Sgt. Rock feature is allegedly also in the cards. Even 2025’s Superman, while starring a character endlessly adapted for movie theaters, will feature newcomers to live-action cinema like The Engineer, Metamorpho, and Mister Terrific. The DC Universe has to sell the general populace on exciting new stories that don’t just rehash what people have seen before. That’ll be a lot easier to do without spending immediate resources on the umpteenth solo Batman film.

[RELATED: Batman Doesn’t Need a Movie to Be a Major Character in the New DCU]

Let People Crave More Batman

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s an eternally true phrase that Hollywood as a whole could stand to take more cues from. In the case of Batman, taking a little bit of time off from the character will inevitably get people extra stoked when he shows up again. If done right, Batman’s inevitable DC Universe debut could feel like something people have been eagerly awaiting rather than a cinematic venture crafted out of tremendous obligation. Plus, giving the DC Universe more time to find its creative sea legs can make it super intriguing to see how a new incarnation of Batman fits into this creative landscape.

Taking eight years off between Batman & Robin and Batman Begins led to the creative wonders of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Meanwhile, pausing for six years between Dawn of Justice and The Batman led to a new age of artistic prosperity for this crime-fighter. Who knows what striking new interpretation of Batman awaits audiences when the DC Universe finally gets around to this character? Especially since, in an ideal world, this franchise will have fleshed out many previously obscure DC Comics characters by then that Batman can rub shoulders with.

There’s really no shortage of joyous upsides to letting the big-screen version of Batman wait a little while longer before making his DC Universe entrance. Granted, that doesn’t erase the sting for die-hard Batman fans of learning two separate Batman movies are delayed on the same day. Still, if history has taught us anything, it’s that patience is often rewarded when it comes to the world’s greatest detective.