The Batman Confirmed to Be Separate Universe From Justice League

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe prides itself on having an interconnected canon across all of its films and TV shows, Warner Bros. and DC Comics have gone a different route in recent years, with a panel during DC FanDome confirming that the upcoming The Batman wasn't connected to 2017's Justice League. Zack Snyder's Man of Steel back in 2013 was meant to kick off the shared universe, but with the crossover films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League being critical disappointments as compared to last year's Joker, which had no connective tissue to any other corner of the DCEU, it appears that a number of upcoming DC films will embrace this fractured universe.

"We're trying to keep it as simple as that, like there is that one Earth that exists in Justice League, and then the beginnings of another earth that is happening in its early stages of [The Batman]," Warner Bros. Pictures President of DC-Based Film Production Walter Hamada shared during the FanDome panel. "And then, obviously, there are outliers like Joker, which doesn't exist in either earth, but that's okay, it's all part of the multiverse. [Director] Matt Reeves can continue to build out his Gotham, and he's got great plans on how to build it out and build it out in a way that's innovative."

Understandably, having multiple franchises with different narratives all existing parallel to one another could cause confusion, but it also comes with the freedom to explore a number of narrative threads without having to worry about how it will impact other stories. Additionally, as proven when Justice League's Ezra Miller appeared as The Flash alongside Grant Gustin's The Flash in The CW series, and the plans for Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck to both play Batman in the upcoming The Flash movie, there will still be opportunities for crossover events.

Hamada went on to note that The Batman will also kick off its own universe that will be continued in a new TV series focusing on the Gotham police department.

"They announced recently that there's an idea of taking that Gotham and then exploring it on HBO Max as a show," Hamada detailed. "Those are things that you can do, because we don't have to worry about how that would impact Aquaman 2 and how that could impact The Flash and so I think it just opens doors for us in ways that you couldn't have if you had to have a singular universe."

The Batman is currently slated to hit theaters on October 1, 2021.

Do these details have you excited for the new movie? Let us know in the comments below!