The Batman director Matt Reeves says a crossover with Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker isn’t on the table.
The Batman end of DC is quickly becoming one of the more convoluted branches under the superhero umbrella. As of this writing, there appear to be at least three separate Batman properties being produced at the same time. The first is in what has been dubbed the DC Extended Universe with Michael Keaton taking over the role from Ben Affleck. The second is the Matt Reeves directed film starring Robert Pattinson which has at least two different HBO Max shows spinning off of it. Finally, we have the Joker film starring Joaquin Phoenix.
When Joker was released back in 2019 it drew a mixed reception from critics but managed to earn a number of Oscar nominations with Joaquin Phoenix winning one for Best Actor in a Lead Role. The film was also the most profitable DC film ever made, earning over $1B worldwide on a $55M budget. A sequel is currently in development and is said to be planning on beginning production in 2023.
The film itself had an interesting ending, which directly lead to Bruce Wayne’s parents being shot. Some have speculated that this may have been intended to set up Robert Pattinson’s Batman and that a crossover may be on the table. According to director Matt Reeves, this was not the plan nor had it ever been.
While speaking to Total Film, the director opened up about the possibilities of crossing over The Batman with Joaquin Phonix’s Joker. The director noted that there was never a plan for this and that the two projects were being worked on completely separate from one another:
“Not really. I was finishing the Planet of the Apes movies when I first came on board, which is 2017. It’s been five years in the making. When I was working on the script, and got deep into the script, Joker hadn’t come out yet. I didn’t know what Joker was or what it was going to be, and then I became aware of it once we were very deep into the film, and the fact that they were grounding things in a way that was reminiscent of things that we were doing, that wasn’t planned. Joker was always meant to be a very specific standalone that Joaquin [Phoenix], and Todd [Phillips] were doing. There was never really any discussion of crossover. But it was interesting to see that we were trying to ground our stories and that audiences were excited about the fact that you could take Gotham and make it feel so much like our world. That was something from the beginning that I had wanted to do.”
Here is the synopsis for The Batman:
Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.
Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the titular hero, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as Bella Reál, with Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as the Penguin.
The Batman will hit theaters on March 4, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the film and the future of Joker and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Total Film