WB has been retconning its misdeeds from the past and DC FanDome seems like their rite of passage. The Multiverse seems to be DC’s solution to put things in the order starting point of it being 2022 release The Flash starring Ezra Miller. The Flash panel at The DC FanDome didn’t reveal much about the movie no big announcements rather it was a quick run-downer about the information we know already. Lead Ezra Miller, however, gave fans some quick DC and Flash facts.
Much is abuzz around the event but it’s the caped crusaders who are making the most noise. DC’s upcoming The Flash movie previously confirmed to have Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck playing different iterations of Bruce Wayne aka Batman in Multiverse. On the other side, we have Robert Pattinson’s The Batman which is the future flag bearer of the franchise. Finally, there is Val Kilmer’s presence shrouded in mystery.
Watch: The Flash DC FanDome Panel
DC FanDome The Flash Panel
As expected we got our first look at concept art of Flash’s new costume during the DC FanDome panel. It looked very fluid, not chunky which is a big detachment from Snyder’s choice of costume and it has lights that Muschietti loosely teased were Bruce Wayne’s addition.
While the cast and director were pretty tight-lipped about any of the Batman appearance. Muschietti did address the time travel theme by saying,
‘Multiverse is born out of Barry’s story.’
So DC has as of now 4 different active portrayals of Batman, all distinct, all dark, and all connected within the DCEU. With an unprecedented format at the DC FanDome event, it would have been a shame for WB to not flaunt their talent pool. With 85 years of comic book legacy and about 55 years of big-screen adaption of the character, DC has quite the star power to overshadow any franchise.
That’s precisely why DC FanDome has incepted the idea of a Batman Multiverse experience. Furthermore, there’s consensus among sections of the DC fan community that this convergence of generations of the caped crusader sows seeds for stories that would entertain fans for the next decade or so. Watch out, Marvel!
Behold The DC Multiverse
As discussed during the FanDome, DC’s Multiverse is an assimilation of different timelines. Traditionally, comic writers used the Multiverse to retcon various events by killing off characters or by giving them a new alter ego. In the present day, DC seems to use the idea to put together the broken pieces of DCEU.
Watch: Batman: Bringing Back Michael Keaton
The Flash is DC’s choice character to enter the Multiverse. All he had to do was run a little too fast and accidentally arrive on Earth 2. But in the movie-verse, the studio is adding the Multiverse concept in the Flash 2022 movie where the inspiration of the script comes from the Flashpoint event. Director Andrés Muschietti has acknowledged that the film will cover the core aspect of the story. In comics, Reverse-Flash kills Barry Allen’s mother. So, Barry goes back in time in order to save her and in return creates alternate timelines. Not much is yet known about the movie but now with the casting news, fans are relishing the idea of Batman being the biggest presence of the event.
The first Batman’s appearance was confirmed with the news of Michael Keaton’s casting. Keaton will reprise his version of Bruce Wayne from Tim Burton’s movies. His presence points at the Beyond Batman storyline. Beyond Batman sees an older Bruce Wayne somewhere in his 80’s. He is more of a guide to new Batman Terry McGinnis, than a crime fighter. Keaton is supposed to be this recurring guide figure for DCEU similar to Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury in the MCU.
But the recent news of Ben Affleck’s casting as the Caped crusader in the Flash move has further spawned a new twist in the theories. About Ben Affleck’s casting, director Muschietti said,
His Batman has a dichotomy that is very strong, which is his masculinity, because of the way he looks and the imposing figure that he has, and his jawline, but he’s also very vulnerable. He knows how to deliver from the inside out, that vulnerability. He just needs a story that allows him to bring that contrast, that balance.
Trivia
Batfleck In The Flash
The director further notes Affleck’s character arch, “He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before.”
What director Muschietti is referring here to is the connection Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen and Ben Affleck’s Batman share with both having lost their parents. Bruce Wayne can give Barry an advice or two about it. It is also to be noted that Keaton will be the same Bruce Wayne but older and from a different timeline. So, the theme covers both Keaton and Affleck’s characters.
Watch: The Batman Ben Affleck Returns Announcement
However, Affleck has a cameo in the Flash. So while Keaton’s Bruce Wayne will pop-up here and there in the forthcoming DC projects, it’ll be a final farewell for Affleck’s character. It seems like DC, in a broader sense, is trying to bring a satisfying end to Affleck’s Batman. It is to be noted that Affleck will return as the caped crusader in Zack Snyder’s Justice League which will tell more of the Batman’s story.
Affleck had made an abrupt exit from the franchise after the Justice League failure. Also, leaving the gap in Batman’s spin-off project! Director Matt Reeves later stepped into his shoes and cast Robert Pattinson in his take – The Batman 2021.
Pattinson’s Batman is spinning it’s own Bat-verse, independent from any of the other DCEU Batman iterations. As per the director, it is a noir tale that will explore the detective side of Bruce Wayne as well as defiantly carry the dark broody tone of Affleck’s Batman.
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