With James Gunn now taking charge at the helm of DCU, Henry Cavill and Robert Pattinson have become the focal point of the narrative. Where these two actors are placed in the DC universe is well established by now, but what happens to their characters once they are in DCU has become a matter of some contentious debate. Recently, the rumors of Ben Affleck’s removal from the mainstream DC universe have been occupying the fandom’s go-to rumor mill, but if there is any truth to those speculations remains to be confirmed by the executives stationed on the top floors of Warner Bros. Discovery.
As of this moment, however, Henry Cavill and Robert Pattinson have become the subjects of the DCU fandom’s most heated narrative — will Cavill’s Superman and Pattinson’s Batman be placed within the same universe?
Henry Cavill & Robert Pattinson’s Role in DCU Analyzed
As has been confirmed and re-affirmed numerous times and from numerous sources, some even directly from the horse’s mouth, Henry Cavill‘s coming (this time around) marks the actor’s permanent foray into the world of DC cinematic universe as this generation’s Superman. However, where the subject of Superman comes to a shrieking standstill with no further space for debate and a unanimous nod of acceptance, the same question when applied to Batman’s existence in DCU becomes too convoluted for anyone’s liking.
While one part of the fandom has upvoted Ben Affleck‘s cynical, feared, and morally grey hero who has no problem in branding his victims and acting as the judge, jury, and executioner, the other faction sincerely and whole-heartedly wishes to witness Robert Pattinson taking the center stage in DCU. Matt Reeves’s version when declared had quickly drawn a massive onslaught of negative criticism online over the casting choice but all was forgotten in the face of the epic narrative that was dealt out over the grim and bloody expanse of The Batman (2022).
With the latter project now a success, the fandom has taken a liking to Pattinson and by placing oneself in Gunn’s shoes, it is not hard to imagine the ambitious vision of DCU covering an arc that needs a younger and formative Batman instead of one that is corrupted by wrath, hatred, and pure vengeance (not the Battinson kind).
Will There Be Two Separate Universes For the Bat & the Supe?
DCU’s narrative going forward demands a powerful comeback to cast an overbearing shadow that’s big enough to engulf the controversial year and the wreckage left behind. David Zaslav and James Gunn show the potential to pull such a feat off, and successfully at that. The wild teases and hints dropped by the latter in the past month since assuming control over DC Studios have left the DC fandom hanging with anticipation and riddled with theories. But none of those hints and theories have led to solid fruition or declaration of finality from the CEO himself.
The Brazilian CCXP 2022, on the other hand, held annually at São Paulo has given something solid for the fandom to hold onto until Gunn makes his plans public. The DCU official poster at the Comic-Con Experience presents a five-hero lineup — Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Batman (Robert Pattinson), Black Adam (The Rock), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Superman (Henry Cavill) — with no sign of the Flash, Cyborg, or Batfleck. This then leads to an entirely new branch of fan theories.
If Warner Bros. removes itself completely from the SnyderVerse Justice League heroes, Gadot and Momoa will undoubtedly be a part of the plan. But considering how the Amazon warrior and the Prince of Atlantis haven’t had the opportunity of sharing a complex history with the evolution of the SnyderVerse, they stay on as the face of the characters. However, Batfleck is a completely different story that may need to stay in his own realm of Gotham outside of the mainstream DCU.
Considering how the CCXP has prominently placed Battinson in the narrative, the younger Batman could gradually be transitioned into DCU as its mainstream Crusader while Batfleck may be left to fight his demons within his own reality. At the same time, the DCU could be building its narrative forward with Cavill at its front and center, while given how Batman and Superman being MCs cannot both occupy the spotlight of the story simultaneously, the Batman universe could be built parallel to the DCU under the guiding hand of Matt Reeves. And Batfleck, stuck between the two juggernauts, may face a slow erasure.
