Why Affleck’s Restored Batman Movie Wouldn’t Ruin Robert Pattinson’s Reboot

Ben Affleck’s Batman movie wouldn’t interfere with Robert Pattinson’s version of the character, and they would actually be beneficial to the DC Films’ multiverse. Batman has had an interesting history on the big screen with both very successful movies and others that were heavily criticized for either not getting the character’s essence right or simply for their bad execution. Following the success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the DC Extended Universe brought its version of Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Ben Affleck playing Bruce Wayne.

Although the movie wasn’t well-received by critics who pointed out its tone and screenplay as some of its weakest points, Affleck’s performance as Batman was praised, which allowed him to reprise the role in other projects from the DCEU. Affleck returned in Suicide Squad though in a minor role and later in Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and his performance in the latter has reignited interest in his unmade solo Batman movie. Affleck was set to direct and star in a Batman movie set within the DCEU, but after a couple of problems and this universe going through big changes, the project was canceled and instead Warner Bros. focused on a reboot, with Matt Reeves as director and Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne.

Related: Snyder Cut Sets Up Affleck’s Batman Death In Justice League 2

After #MakeTheBatfleckMovie trended on Twitter as fans campaign for the aforementioned unmade Affleck Batman movie to happen, especially now that the famous “Snyder cut” finally saw the light, many questions arose about how this version of the Caped Crusader could fit in DC’s multiverse now that there’s also Pattinson’s Batman coming up. Details about the plot of Affleck’s The Batman have been gradually revealed, such as the main antagonist being Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello), but the biggest one has been how the story was going to take place in Arkham Asylum, and that would have only been possible with Affleck’s version of the character.

The DCEU skipped Batman’s origin story and went straight to introducing Affleck’s character as an already experienced vigilante. As such, this Batman has already come across different villains, even if that happened off-screen, which makes a story set in Arkham Asylum possible. Pattinson’s version, on the other hand, is a young Bruce Wayne in his second year fighting crime in Gotham, meaning he still has a lot to learn and a lot of characters to meet, even if in his first movie he will come across Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), Penguin (Colin Farrell), and the Riddler (Paul Dano). Even if Reeves’ The Batman gets sequels, it’s unlikely that this younger Batman will continue long enough for him to be as experienced as Affleck’s and thus will be able to face all those villains locked up in Arkham – and that simple but very important detail is what makes it possible for both versions to exist in DC Films’ multiverse without one affecting the other.

The multiverse in DC’s universe also makes it possible for different versions of one character to exist, which is already happening with Affleck, Pattinson, and Michael Keaton, who is set to return in The Flash after playing the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns. A “Batfleck” solo movie wouldn’t affect Pattinson’s reboot at all simply because they are different Batmans, in different timelines, and different points in their lives, so they can coexist without a problem.

Next: All 9 Canceled Batman Movies (& Why They Didn’t Happen)

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