Batman Movie News: Is Warner Bros. Making Batverse With ‘Gotham City Sirens,’ ‘Nightwing’ And ‘Batgirl’?

As reported by Screen Rant, Batman movie news has been coming by the truckload lately, with Warner Bros. and online rumors suggesting the studio will be producing a number of Batman-related films, including The Batman movie itself, Suicide Squad 2, Gotham City Sirens, Nightwing, and now Batgirl. Many people have suggested that Warner Bros. has shifted from a failed Plan A with its DC Cinematic Universe to a new Plan B, with the B standing for Batman. Are we getting a Batverse?

Was telling someone the other day that Warner’s clearly wants out of the DCU and into the Batverse https://t.co/PsMLZ0OUVF

— Dirk Lester ???????? (@Dirk2112) March 30, 2017

Reason for a Batman Movie Universe

Whatever people might have thought about Batman V Superman – and it certainly had its detractors among moviegoers and film critics – most people felt that Ben Affleck’s Batman was far and away the outstanding character in the movie. Some people believe – despite initial misgivings about the casting – that Affleck may have given us the best version of the character in any Batman movie.

And of course, there’s also the fact that prior to the current incarnation of the DC Cinematic Universe, Warner Bros.’ most successful superhero films were Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. These three films made the studio a fortune.

So it’s hardly surprising that Warner Bros. – when reconsidering the direction of its current slate of DC films – might want to shift away from Aquaman, Green Lantern, Cyborg – and maybe even Superman and Wonder Woman – to focus on Batman, his villains, and his Gotham-centered allies.

New Slate of Batman Movie Releases

Things haven’t been going smoothly over at Warner Bros. when it comes to their superhero films. With The Flash movie having problems holding onto a director, The Batman movie changing both directors and scripts and the Shazam movie apparently never getting a release date, it only makes sense that Warner Bros. and DC would rather shift to something they see as a bit more reliable – i.e. a Batman movie universe.

The first Suicide Squad movie wasn’t exactly a Marvel scale box office or critical hit, but $800 million is nothing to sneeze at. So naturally, a sequel is in the offing. Rumors have it that Mel Gibson is being considered as a possible director – which should make for a very interesting film if it happens. But one of the reasons this movie is probably moving forward is that it fits neatly into Plan B’s Batman movie universe.

Gotham City Sirens is directly tied to both Suicide Squad and any later Batman movie. The film will feature Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad, Catwoman and Poison Ivy – all Batman villains. There’s reason to think that Batgirl may make an appearance as well – see below.

For non-comic book fans, Nightwing might be unfamiliar, but he’s actually a later version of the Dick Grayson/Robin character. In the comics, Robin had a falling out with Batman and decided to strike out on his own in Blüdhaven as the crime-fighting vigilante Nightwing. Nightwing is more or less a poor man’s version of Batman without the cape. So a Nightwing-based Batman movie could be awesome.

Most recently, it’s been revealed that Marvel’s own Joss Whedon – the amazing director behind both Avengers films – will be jumping ship to produce a new Batgirl movie for Warner Bros. studio. Whedon is considered an ideal pick for this particular entry in a new Batman movie universe because of his ability to write and direct strong and credible female characters like Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Black Widow in The Avengers.

Yes, there have been rumblings in this fledgling Batman movie universe that Ben Affleck may be leaving the role either after Justice League or after the first The Batman movie. However, even this ties in with the potential expansion of the Batman movie franchise, since the actor who plays Dick Grayson in the upcoming Nightwing movie could easily become the new Batman, replacing Bruce Wayne.

[Featured Image by Warner Bros.]