This weekend, fans will get a taste of what’s in store for the greater DC Extended Universe at DC FanDome, a seemingly-now-annual streaming event, set for tomorrow (Saturday, October 16) that’s expected to tease many new upcoming DC/Warner Bros. films and HBO Max series. Director Matt Reeves already teased yesterday the new trailer for “The Batman,” and we’ll also likely get a first look at Michael Keaton as Batman again, the actor set to appear in “The Flash“—the first time the actor has portrayed the Caped Crusader since 1992’s “Batman Returns.
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One of the more interesting projects that likely will get highlighted at FanDome is the HBO Max film, “Batgirl,” which stars Leslie Grace (“In The Heights“) as Barbara Gordon and will be directed by “Ms. Marvel” filmmaker Adl El Arbi and Bilall Fallah helming. The fascinating aspect of the new project is that seemingly will take place directly in the DCEU as “Justice League” actorJ.K. Simmons is already set to reprise the role of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon.
However, it’s been unclear if we’ll see Bruce Wayne in a significant way, given that Ben Affleck has essentially stepped away from the role outside of a small cameo in “The Flash,” that’s expected to be his proper goodbye to the franchise and character.
The two directors recently spoke with Dutch outlet VRT NWS and revealed “Batman” will show up in the HBO Max film; however, they stopped short of revealing which actor would play him. Asked directly if Ben Affleck, the filmmakers played coy, saying essentially, well, he is a Batman and has played one, but so have Christian Bale and Val Kilmer too. So, no details were revealed from these guys aside from that tease.
That said, when Keaton was first announced as reentering the DCEU via “The Flash,” it was said by Hollywood trade reporters that the star could stay in the DC Universe franchise as a kind of Nick Fury-like mentor figure. Keaton could easily take on a mentor role not too dissimilar from the cartoon series “Batman Beyond,” where a retired Bruce Wayne shepherds a new incarnation of Gotham’s protector. THR’s Borys Kit suggested as much about “Batgirl” back in the summer of 2020, and so this stands to reason, the Batman that will appear is like Keaton, not Affleck (sorry, fans). It’s possible we could get more clarity at DC FanDome tomorrow, but at the same time, they may want to save the full surprises for later.