Out of all the DC movies slated to hit theaters over the course of the next few years, the one that seems to have the most people excited is the solo Batman movie, which is expected to launch a potential trilogy surrounding a younger version of the Caped Crusader. We recently learned that Ben Affleck definitely will not be returning to the cape and cowl, after last playing Batman in Justice League. But that won't stop Warner Bros. and DC from giving audiences more of the fan favorite character.

For a long time, concrete details about the upcoming Batman solo film had been incredibly difficult to come by. But recently, we've had real movement. So now was as good a time as any to sift through all of the released news and rumors about the upcoming project to bring you everything we know so far about the latest chapter in the long cinematic history of The Dark Knight. Now let's get the ball rolling with the question that's at the forefront of everyone's minds.

What Is The Batman Movie Release Date?
Soon! But not really as soon as maybe some of you had hope. Still, there's a confirmed release date, so at least we can start there. We now know that Warner Bros. has targeted a release date of June 25, 2021 as the debut of its latest Batman movie. Casting is completely up in the air at the moment, though Matt Reeves has been speaking more and more about The Batman (tentative title), which leads up to believe that pre-production will ramp up soon. This makes The Batman the fifth live-action movie on DC's production slate, and we also know that it will be followed, officially, but The Suicide Squad, possibly directed by James Gunn. So yeah, the future is looking healthier at DC.

What Is The Batman Movie Rating?
Despite the fact that many people have often clamored for an R-rated Batman movie over the years, it doesn't look like Warner Bros. or DC has any intention of bringing us one anytime soon. For the foreseeable future, they intend on keeping their films squarely in the PG-13 realm -- although that's an admittedly flexible field. In response to a recent fan petition to make Suicide Squad an R-rated adventure, it was revealed that there are no plans to release any R-rated DC movies in theaters. The primary impetus for this creative decision seems to be a desire for tonal consistency so that each and every entry in the proper DCEU canon feels like it belongs. In this regard, WB appears to be veering more towards Marvel territory than FOX, as the latter of those two has shown a bit more willingness to present more violent and vulgar superhero material to the MPAA. Even rumors that Birds of Prey would be R-rated are being walked back, ever so slightly. So we expect The Batman to stay PG-13.

That being said, we could still potentially see an R-rated Batman movie in some form or another. The Ultimate Edition Blu-Ray release of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice featured an R-rating, so there's clear precedent for the studio to eventually release a Batman adventure featuring more adult-oriented content at some point.

Who Is Working On The Batman Movie?
Shortly after most people came to the collective realization that Ben Affleck's Batman represented one of the best aspects of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. set about getting him much more involved creatively in the greater DCEU. The studio eventually revealed that Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns had been collaborating on a script for the upcoming Batman solo movie, with Affleck also set to direct. However, that all shifted when Affleck officially dropped out as the director of the project to focus on acting in the project and Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves was subsequently brought onboard. Of course, we now know that Affleck is off the project completely, giving Reeves a clean slate to start over with a younger Bruce Wayne (assumedly).

However, this major shakeup also effectively means that certain other individuals will have significantly reduced roles in the upcoming film. As of right now there seems to be no indication that Zack Snyder has any involvement in the Batman solo film (he has been off the DCEU for some time now), and Batman V Superman producer Charles Roven has also been reassigned to have a much less significant, hands off role with all of DC's solo movies. Matt Reeves seems to have major control over the future of the Batman franchise -- which in turn means that he also has plenty of control over the greater DCEU.

Who Is The Villain Of The Batman Movie?
This section, sadly, has been deeply altered by the news that Ben Affleck was walking away from The Batman, and that Matt Reeves was exploring new material. Early reports associated with the Affleck version of the film indicated that the overall story for the upcoming Batman movie would be "villain heavy," and that The Dark Knight will face off with several of his rogues throughout the course of the film. There even were rumors that it would be set in Arkham Asylum, potentially seeing Batman fight his way through the corridors in a Raid-style thriller. Also, at one point, it was believed that Slade "Deathstroke" Wilson would play the role of the movie's central antagonist.

However, plenty of elements have likely changed with Matt Reeves' introduction to the process, so it's hard to know which villains he will want (or not want) to use. The writer-director did confirm to THR that there will be multiple villains plucked from the Caped Crusader's rogues gallery, so the casting of those roles will be equally intriguing as we work through this process.

What Storylines Will The Batman Movie Adapt?
Since Matt Reeves indicates that the coming Batman movie will utilize an incredibly villain heavy storyline in order to quickly set up Batman's corner of the DCEU, while also emphasizing the "Detective" aspect of the DC Comics character, we can extrapolate a few particular storylines that might come into play. THR notes that Reeves definitely is not doing Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, so that's off the table. Popular choices at this stage are Hush, in which a mysterious new villain (still, potentially, Deathstroke) rallies all of Batman's rogues against him; Knightfall, in which Batman's back is broken by Bane (the movie could swap Bane out for Deathstroke) and he finds himself left to rebuild his weakened body; and the recent video game Arkham Origins, which sees a group of deadly assassins (again, Deathstroke plays a major part in this) all banding together to take on the Dark Knight in the span of a single evening.

Few notable comic book characters seem to have a back catalog of stories quite on par with that of DC's Caped Crusader. These three are some of the most popular guesses and theories at this point, but there are countless other options that Matt Reeves could draw from. Or, he could forgo adapting a known Batman storyline from the comics and simply conceive an original tale that works for the big screen. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's simply too early in the development process to know for certain what story they will use, particularly with the recent changes.

Where Does The Batman Movie Fit Within The DCEU?
At this point, it probably doesn't. After Justice League bombed, DC and Warner Bros. seem to be reconsidering the collective path forward, and "shared universe" doesn't seem to be on their radar. Aquaman has thrived as a solo, standalone story. Wonder Woman 1984 will be a continuation of Patty Jenkins' successful solo Diana Prince story, with Gal Gadot and Chris Pine returning. The word on James Gunn's The Suicide Squad is that it's a soft reboot of the entire franchise, so connections to the David Ayer version might not even exist. In fact, the party line out of the DCEU headquarters is that there's no longer a concerted effort to make these movies connect, so Matt Reeves likely will have the opportunity to build his own Bat-world, and not feel the need to marry it to the existing storylines in the DCEU.

What Type Of Hero Will We See In The Batman Movie?
At this early stage of the film's development, it's incredibly difficult to tell what type of Batman we, as an audience, will see when the film finally premieres. We assume it will be a younger version of the character, for a handful of reasons. Matt Reeves has said on record that he'd like to build a Batman trilogy here, much like he did in Apes, and starting with an older Bruce Wayne makes that difficult (as big-budget superhero movies take time).

Also, every time Matt Reeves is asked, he refers to this story as a "noir Batman movie," with an emphasis on the hero's ability to solve crimes and detect things. People forget that Batman doesn't really have a superpower. He's a self-trained crimefighter, who has an unnatural will to fight, but relies on his intellect to bring down hardened criminals. The current run of Batman movies got away from that aspect of the character, and Reeves has an opportunity to lean more into Batman's detection skills, and less on his bloodthirsty distrust of the "menace" that might be Superman.

Who Will Bruce Wayne Work With In The Batman Movie?
Anyone who knows anything about Batman knows that he's not quite as much of a loner as he claims to be. Over the years The Bat Family has had numerous members, and we can likely expect to see at least some of them make an appearance at some point throughout the course of the upcoming Batman solo movie (and its potential sequels). With a Nightwing movie still being rumored under the guidance of The LEGO Batman Movie's Chris McKay, the introduction of more Bat Family members seems even more likely now.

What About J.K. Simmons As James Gordon?
Will ANY members of the Ben Affleck Batman movies carry over into Matt Reeves' interpretation? While we couldn't see Jeremy Irons reprising his role of Alfred for a younger Bruce Wayne, it might make some sense to keep J.K. Simmons on board as Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon. Depictions of the character have varied considerably over the years -- from Pat Hingle's bumbling buffoon to Gary Oldman's hard-boiled detective -- but we think J.K. Simmons' proven intensity helped make the character an incredibly tough cop and reliable ally. He wasn't given nearly enough to do in Justice League, and a supporting role in The Batman could rectify the waste of Simmons' talents.