Rumor: Matt Reeves’ Batman Features Deathstroke, Joker & Scarecrow

Three big-name Batman villains are rumored to appear in the DC Extended Universe’s upcoming solo film The Batman, starring Ben Affleck. Among the antagonists allegedly lined up for the project are the iconic Joker, Deathstroke, and Scarecrow.

Aside from the Scarecrow, both the Joker and Deathstroke already have respective actors attached to the roles in the DCEU. Obviously, there is Jared Leto, who has previously debuted his iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime in last year’s Suicide Squad, where he and Harley Quinn even had a brief run-in with “Batfleck”. And then there is Joe Manganiello, who is already confirmed to play the role of Deathstroke, although he has yet to appear in any DCEU movie as the character.

Courtesy of the Reddit subcommunity, r/DCEULeaks,  a forum member with the handle @WBUT7 has posted a couple of supposed updates for the upcoming slew of properties from the DCEU camp, including one about the Ezra Miller-led The Flash film. The update also indicates supposed morsels of information about the Matt Reeves-directed solo Batman movie. And although it appears that the filmmaker has yet to start on the preproduction process due to his previously-made commitments, the story development is progressing:

“No work has been commissioned on this movie. Apparently Matt Reeves has yet to even start on this, and has to fulfill his commitment on “War for the Planet of the Apes” before working with Ben Affleck. Although there has been rumors of the script being thrown out, there have been rumors around the executives that Matt Reeves wants to incorporate many Batman villains. These villains will include Deathstroke, Joker, and Scarecrow. The studio has already been working on Deathstroke (obviously) and has mockups of a potential new Scarecrow.”

The same tipster adds that there is a possibility that there would be other villains that would be featured The Batman on top of the aforementioned 3. The user even to the extent of saying that “many, if not most, members of Batman’s rogue’s gallery will be making appearances in the film,” teasing fans that their favorite Bruce Wayne antagonist may coming to life in the upcoming film.

Should this rumor actually pan out, it is a wonder how all the villains would fit in the story of The Batman. If they decide to set the solo project around the arc of a retired Batman who eventually made a resurgence in the superhero world and has even joined other heroes for a greater cause, the slew of villains could be shown in a montage of his early crime-fighting days. That way, it will not feel that they were all just crammed into one production for the sake of showing them all together, on the big screen.

Fans are cautioned to take these rumors with a bit grain of salt, as the authenticity of the report is very much in question for the time being. Currently, The Batman‘s script is said to be going through rewrites to be able to better fit Reeves’ style and vision for the movie better.

NEXT: Which Superhero Movies Are Coming Out in 2019?

Sources: r/DCEULeaks