Zack Snyder’s Reason For Making Batman V Superman Makes It Even Weirder The DCEU Never Got A Solo Batman Movie

Strangely, the DCEU never got a solo Batman movie, even though the Caped Crusader was a big reason Zack Snyder decided to make Batman v Superman in the first place. Ben Affleck’s Batman first appeared in Batman v Superman as an adversary to Superman, and appeared in multiple movies after that, including Suicide Squad, Justice League, and The Flash. After a decade of the DCEU, the Gotham side of the universe was relatively unexplored as Batman was relegated to the sidelines.

Batman has always been an integral part of the DCEU since he first appeared in the universe’s second film. Unfortunately, Batman was never quite explored in the ways Zack Snyder planned, as Snyder’s vision for the universe was cut short. Director Zack Snyder recently did an interview with GQ and explained why Batman v Superman was the follow-up to Man of Steel instead of a standard Superman sequel. His comments position Bruce Wayne as an important character for the entirety of the DCEU. Here is his full quote about the topic:

Once you talk about the fact that Bruce Wayne exists in the same world as Superman, right? Then you are into a Batman concept. You have to finish that thought. Now, Man of Steel 2, if you were to make it, you know with Brainiac or whatever you’re gonna do, which it certainly could have been…and maybe that’s it, you hold it off for a movie, and that’s possible. I just felt like I needed to know what Bruce’s take on this was, like, Bruce’s take on the near-destruction of the world. And it really depends on how important you think Batman is in the Trinity.

Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman Explanation Makes DCEU’s Missing Batman Solo Movie Weirder

Batman v Superman is about how the world reacts to a figure like Superman, and the biggest narrative force behind the film is specifically how Bruce Wayne reacts to him. Snyder’s comments on needing to know how Bruce reacted to the events of Man of Steel show how important Batman is to the overall mythology of the DC universe. If Bruce Wayne was as important as Snyder thought, part of the Trinity, it makes it even more baffling that a Ben Affleck solo movie never came to fruition.

This is particularly true given how Batman’s backstory is one of the biggest question marks in the franchise. While the major elements of the Batman mythos are clearly there, digging deeper into why he’s become so violent may have made his unique characterization more clearly sensible from the audience’s perspective. However, without it, Batman/Bruce Wayne isn’t as fleshed out in either Batman v Superman or Justice League as he should have been.

The DCEU’s Missing Batman Movie Makes DCU’s Dark Knight Setup Easier

Of course, behind-the-scenes drama played a major role in the trajectory of the DCEU. Warner Bros favored Matt Reeve’s younger iteration of Batman, placed in his own universe. This left a massive hole in the DCEU that never got remedied. The lack of a Batman movie in a shared universe is good for the new DCU as it prepares for The Brave and the Bold, another iteration of the character that highlights his relationship with his son Damien Wayne. This gives the new universe a chance to explore deeper into Batman mythology alongside other DC heroes than before.

It’s a shame Ben Affleck’s Batman never got a solo movie following his arc from Batman v Superman to Justice League. Divisive reception and studio drama made sure it never happened, despite Batman being an integral part of the DCEU. Snyder knew that when he needed to know how Bruce Wayne would react to the events of Man of Steel. As Snyder’s comments suggested, it’s about how important Batman is to the Trinity, and it’s weird that at the end of the universe, he didn’t feel as important as he could have been.