Batgirl and The Flash movies to star Keaton’s Batman as the DCEU ditches Cavill and Affleck as Batman and Superman?

It looks like the DCEU as we know it could be on the verge of some very big changes this year… and they may not be changes for the better.

With Zack Snyder’s Justice League being a big success for HBO Max last year, many thought that the future of DC on the big screen may well tie back to Snyder’s original vision. However, the further we got away from it and the more HBO Max and DC/Warner for whatever reason, seemed reluctant to embrace its success, the more this looked unlikely.

And now not only is it beginning to look unlikely, it’s beginning to look like Snyder’s vision isn’t just being ignored, it’s being outright erased.

It all began a few days ago when Ben Affleck, Batman/Bruce Wayne in the DCEU, more or less confirmed that he’s done with big IPs, with many assuming this means that once he’s finished with The Flash, in which we know he appears, he’s done with the world’s greatest detective.

“I don’t want to do IP movies where you have this sort of built-in audience,” Affleck said, “That’s something I was interested in and liked, and I just don’t like anymore. I like other people who do it. And if you are going to do it, you should love it. And I love something different. So, I want to do that. Really, what’s important to me is that people see it. I mean, this is in a limited theatrical release, and that’s great. I know that 90% of people are going to see it on Amazon, and I want them to see it. I want them to see the movie. That’s more important to me.”

In light of recent developments and rumours, this comment by Affleck seems to make a lit of sense.

We know that Affleck is starring in The Flash as Bruce Wayne/Batman alongside returning Micheal Keaton’s Batman from the 1989/1992 Batman movies, then we learned that JK Simmons was returning as Jim Gordon in the upcoming HBO Max Batgirl movie (see video at bottom of page) and when we learned Batman was set to appear (here) we assumed that the Batman was to be Affleck’s Batman as he already appeared alongside Simmons’ Gordon in [both versions of] Justice League.

However, it seems we were wrong to make that assumption as it has now been confirmed that it’s Keaton’s Batman, not Affleck’s, that will appear in the movie.

Wut?

The Batgirl movie is from Bad Boys for Life’s directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and will star Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, daughter of Simmons’ Commissioner Jim Gordon and also, well, Batgirl.

We learned that the movie is already in production in Glasgow since the end of November. Oh, and Brendan Fraser is the villain of the piece… expected to be Garfield Lynns AKA Firefly.

But what about the replacing of Affleck with Keaton?

Well, you may recall when Keaton was hired for The Flash, we reported that he was rumored to be a Nick Fury-esque character who would appear in several movies and will act as a mentor for the heroes of the DCEU (here) and, if this all is true, then that’s possibly what we’re seeing happening here.

How so?

Well, there’s several rumours bouncing around but it seems that the core is that when The Flash movie is over, Affleck’s Batman will be erased from the timeline, with Keaton’s replacing him and Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen/The Flash being the only person in the multiverse who knows.

“Ben Affleck is set to appear as Bruce Wayne only at the beginning of the film. After Barry tries to save his mother, he meets another Bruce Wayne played by Micheal Keaton. In this new timeline, he will also meet the Supergirl (played by Sasha Calle) because Superman (originally played by Henry Cavill) never existed. However, Wonder Woman and Aquaman will still be the same (or alternate version?) played by Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa.”

We’ve even heard that Keaton and Affleck’s Batmen/Batmans (?) will fight in the movie and that will result in Affleck’s Batman accidentally dying, meaning Keaton’s Batman will have to step up and become the hero of the Multiverse.

We’re also hearing that at the end of the movie we will no longer have Henry Cavill’s Superman in the DCEU either with Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, Grace’s Batgirl and Zachary Levi’s Shazam becoming the new core members of the Justice League, presumably joining Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Miller’s Flash and Keaton’s Batman.

Em. Ok.

So, while we must stress this is all rumour right now, it is coming from several sources online and we can’t help feeling there’s more than a grain of truth to it all.

Now, we’re very excited for the new Batgirl and Supergirl in the DCEU, the very idea of them replacing rather than standing beside Batman and Superman is pretty dumb.

However, before you throw your phone/computer/TV against the wall, Miller himself has taken to social media to dispute all these claims (here), saying: “No power or force in any known megaverse would or could ever erase Zack Snyder’s mighty wrkz.

“You can take that quote. Take that to the bank, to the press, to the schools, to the military, and the other pillar of capitalism I’m forgetting cause of that thing where you try to think of a group of things you always forget one of them.”

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

It has also been confirmed (here) that Michael Shannon and Antje Traue as Kryptonians warriors Zod and Zaora are returning for The Flash – -as of yet, their roles in the movie is unknown but word is that flash will revisit the events of Man of Steel and we’ll see the battle in Smallville from a whole new perspective. Interesting stuff, for sure.

So, look, I have been excited for the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman ever since the end credits of Batman Returns in 1992 but I’m also a big, big fan of Affleck’s Batman, so I certainly don’t want to see him step down from the DCEU, so I’m torn on all of this.

Also, the idea of a Justice League without Superman and/or Batman just seems wrong, especially since the DCEU’s casting of Cavill and Affleck, even if you don’t like the movies, was spot on.

Is this the end of Snyder’s world(s)? Hard to say but I’m taking some solice in Miller’s denial of all this… but, at the risk of jumping univierses myself, my Spider-sense is tingling on this one.

Let me know all your thoughts, guys.

JK Simmons confirms Glasgow shooting for Batgirl:

J.K. Simmons and I chatted BATGIRL even though he wasn’t even sure he was supposed to. 😀

It’s shooting in Glasgow soon! Expect a lot more Jim Gordon! pic.twitter.com/gHgxQHb9To

— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) November 24, 2021

The Flash arrives in cinemas on November 22nd this year.

Source: Comicbook, The Playlist, THR, Knight Edge Media,