Just days after it was reported that Matt Reeves’ The Batman is being eyed as a “reboot for a new standalone franchise”, we have another rumor about the Dark Knight solo movie, this time claiming that it will not be part of the DC Extended Universe, but could instead exist in the same world as Todd Phillips’ Joker origin movie.

According to Forbes’ Mark Hughes, two sources have apparently confirmed to him that early talks have taken place about the possibility of setting the two movies in the same universe – which of course means a new actor donning the cape and cowl (something which seems expected either way at this point given the lack of news about Ben Affleck’s continued involvement with the DCEU).

With the Joker film is gearing up to go into production later this year, presumably ahead of a 2019 release, this potentially means that Warner Bros. will have concurrent DC cinematic universes running at the same time – something which is sure to prove confusing to general audiences.

It should be noted at this point that the rumor is unconfirmed, and there have been so many reports and speculation about The Batman over the past year or so that it seems impossible at this point to separate fact from fiction.

However, even if The Batman does remain part of the DCEU (which Reeves has previously suggested to be the case), one would have to assume that a different incarnation of the Dark Knight will exist within the world of the Joker origin movie, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the character showed up in Phillips’ film in some capacity.

Just to confuse matters even further, Warner Bros. has recently announced that Jared Leto will be reprising his Suicide Squad role as the Clown Prince of Crime for a Joker movie set within the DCEU!

This is all starting to sound really, really messy. Hopefully Warner Bros. will offer up some clarification on all of this during its San Diego Comic-Con panel next month – if not sooner.

via Flickering Myth