The biggest mistake that Warner Bros. and DC made in the aftermath of “The Dark Knight” trilogy wrapping up was to rush a shared universe in an attempt to compete with Marvel Studios. Let us never forget that, the same year “The Dark Knight Rises” came out, “The Avengers” did as well, leading DC to play catch up in the shared universe game ever since. Hence, why we got “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” in 2016 as opposed to “Man of Steel 2.” WB wanted a connected universe and, understandably, they felt they couldn’t do that without Batman. And so, Ben Affleck entered the fold and things have been a bit shaky ever since.
Perhaps nothing illustrates just how shaky things were (are?) than the fact that Affleck’s Batman never got a solo movie. In fact, Affleck departing “The Batman” is what paved the way for Reeves to come in and reboot the character in the first place. The point is that several years back, Warner Bros. tried to put a square peg into a round hole in the interest of rushing a shared cinematic universe. This was a mistake and it’s one they could run the risk of repeating.
If Gunn and Safran were to build around Robert Pattinson’s Batman, it would present similar issues. Do I envy them having to figure out how to let Reeves’ corner of the DC Universe exist alongside whatever it is they’re trying to do? I most certainly do not. But a bad idea is a bad idea and, luckily, they seem to understand that.