James Gunn explains why Matt Reeves' Batman universe wasn't made part of the DCU

DC Studios co-head James Gunn said director Matt Reeves' choice to keep The Batman universe separate from the newly relaunched DCU was Reeves' own decision, according to CBR. Gunn addressed the question on the social platform Threads on December 15, 2023, after a fan asked why Reeves' Batman films weren't "allowed to exist within the new DCU."

"It's not an 'allowed' thing, it's Matt's choice, and we respect that," Gunn wrote, per CBR's reporting.

Gunn also said he had "heard a pitch" from Reeves for a sequel, The Batman Part II, but had not yet seen a script, according to CBR.

Two Batmans, two universes

The clarification came as Gunn and co-head Peter Safran were building out the DCU's own continuity — which includes a separate live-action Batman — while Reeves continues developing his 2022 film's world as what CBR's report frames as a standalone, Elseworlds-style franchise. Gunn's comments underscore that the split is a matter of directorial preference on a franchise DC Studios still considers valuable, not a rejection of Reeves' take.

What's still open

The retrieved reporting does not specify a timeline for The Batman Part II beyond Gunn's mention of having heard a pitch, nor does it detail whether any characters or actors might eventually cross between the two Batman continuities. CBR's account does not include further comment from Reeves himself on the record.

The Arkham series lands in the DCU, not Reeves' world

The same December 2023 period brought a related clarification, reported by Deadline: a Batman-focused series set in Arkham Asylum, in development at DC Studios, was confirmed to sit inside the new shared DCU continuity rather than the standalone "Elseworlds" category that houses Reeves' films — the same Elseworlds label under which Todd Phillips' "Joker: Folie à Deux" was also being developed. That distinction meant DC Studios was simultaneously building two separate Batman-adjacent projects on two sides of the line Gunn described: one inside the DCU, one deliberately outside it.

Gunn has kept returning to the same question

Gunn's December 2023 explanation was not the only time he addressed the separation. In later comments reported by ScreenRant, Gunn responded to continued fan requests to fold Robert Pattinson's Batman into the DCU by saying he had "contemplated it," while maintaining that any such move would still depend on Reeves' own decision rather than a studio mandate. DC Film News also reported Gunn restating the boundary in similar terms months later, distinguishing between what is "part of DC Studios" broadly and what is specifically "part of the DCU" — the same distinction underlying his original December 2023 remarks.

CBR's report also traced how Reeves' Batman came to stand alone in the first place: the film was originally conceived to connect to the DC Extended Universe with Ben Affleck attached to both direct and star, before Affleck's departure led to Reeves taking over and reshaping the project into the standalone feature it became. Beyond a potential Part II, Reeves was reported to be developing multiple spinoff series in that same separate continuity, including "The Penguin," which CBR said was set to premiere on Max in late 2024, plus planned shows built around Arkham Asylum and the Gotham City Police Department.

US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by CBR, with additional detail from Deadline's reporting on the Arkham series and ScreenRant's coverage of Gunn's later comments on the same question. It restores a story originally published on this site in December 2023; figures are as reported at the time.