This is what I'm hoping. I still value seeing Selina in Bludhaven far more than I do her necessarily being in the sequel. She still requires the type of formal transition into Catwoman that Oz got and I'd prefer that not to happen off-screen.

Lauren LeFranc just signed an overall deal with HBO too like lets make it happen. She's the one that set up that easter egg with Sofia and a Cat show could build it more

Considering what happened to the Arkham show, I’m thinking that Reevesverse content will not go passed Batman part 2 or Penguin season 2 (if it happens)

Nah I think this still goes for a while. Batman 2 is a hyped sequel and one of WB/DC's prized franchises. If it ups the box office or even makes $1B+ WB has every incentive to try to keep this going for as long as they can. It makes them money and wins over acclaim and awards. The sequel is positioned intentionally in awards season. Colin also has spoken multiple times about signing for 3 films

An Arkham show is cool but I think the issue with that and the year 1 GCPD idea came from the fact they seemingly didn't know how to make it relevant to the story they're telling. It wasn't going to add much, whereas fleshing Penguin out was always a part of Reeves WB Batman pitch before they offered him a show to do it on instead.

Reeves seemed to genuinely struggle with finding the right showrunner before HBO introduced him to Lauren. Now she's one of the prizes of Reevesverse who can be trusted to direct where elements go

Also i may be in minority on this but I think the delay actually prevented this series from being as major time commitment for the cast.

Rob said during Batman press he's down for as long as fans support him to play the role and isn't in a position where being Batman dominates his career. He can do any film, this doesn't interrupt his time and the cast is publicly eager to get back. I think people are underestimating how long he himself might actually want to be around for. Then there's Reeves who already is the lead Batman guy at WB/DC beyond Crime Saga. These are actual Batman fans

There hasn't been a live action film actor this willing to wear the cowl for entire films. He's 22 minutes behind Affleck and 29 minutes behind Bale for the most screen time in the cowl and its just been 1 film.

matty said holdat

i always forget they used him for this movie

Matt been running s*** longer than we thought

This woulda had to be like 2018 before anyone was even cast in Batman

"Birds of Prey" was announced on May 2016

hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/margot-robbie-harley-quinn-movie-standalone-894486

Screenwriter revealed on November 2016
thewrap.com/harley-quinn-birds-of-prey-christina-hodson

Ben Affleck welcomes Matt Reeves as the new Batman director on February 2017

Yeah I'm just assuming tho that this may have happened when Matt was in writing stage then looked over at DC and saw BoP had a script and was headed to pre-production with Penguin. They make it seem like he was able to just determine this solo rather than the studio stepping in.

I just did some background tho and noticed a Forbes article from early 2019 also backs Margot's story. Some interesting old details

The Penguin is one of a few villains appearing in the film. The character was reportedly previously part of the Birds of Prey project before being replaced by the crime lord Black Mask, in order to reserve the Penguin's first new on-screen appearance for Reeves' Batman movie.

--

it's generally understood that the expectation is for multiple films in a new Batman series. Reeves has a very clear, bold vision for Batman and has been given full control of the project -- including, right from the start, control over scripting (which I exclusively reported way back in February 2017, while everyone else insisted I was wrong and told you Ben Affleck's script would still be used) and casting decisions.

forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2019/01/17/the-truth-about-the-latest-batman-movie-rumors

Now I'm not SAYING this is definitive proof of anything, but it is interesting

hold the f*** on

i feel like qanon for batman in dcu

Nothing about the coordination and set designs of Clayface really matter for TBECS unless Clayface needs to be in Batman 2, which seems to not be the case right now.

I genuinely don't think Reeves cares about this wider coordination question until after his next film when he's free again. Batman 2 isn't altering itself for DCU and DCU right now is irrelevant to TBECS. Clayface is also Reeves' production alongside Gunn/Safran. Its not like he is just unaware of these decisions.

I think fans are getting a bit too giddy assuming firm decisions have been made and the smoking guns are car decals and newspaper clippings.

I’ve been trying so damn hard for so long to find these interview clips to prove to people that Rob has said he’d love to play a fantastical Batman. Glad someone was able to dig them up

The real tease I needed

Didn't know people were saying this. Rob was always the champion of going there and would be one of the direct reasons it did

These clips are gems tho I forgot he directly spoke on Dark Victory before

Yeah that Dark Victory one is interesting, could be a source of inspiration for Matt if Part II does include Robin

So is this movie still expected to be set just 2 months after Part 1? I hated it back then and I hate it even more now that it's coming out 5 years after part 1 (just give it a 5 year timeskip so we can see a more experienced battinson)

Do you wanna know why I’m pro merger? It’s because I can’t picture anyone else currently can play Batman as well as Rob I don’t like Brandon splinter or whatever his name is. I don’t think we need a super bulky dude.