A wild new rumor suggests that The Batman movie won't go into production until 2019. The upcoming solo DC film was originally being written and directed by Ben Affleck, who would also be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the film from Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice as well as Justice League. But the filmmaker relegated himself to just a starring role in early 2017 after being spread too thin.

Cloverfield and War for the Planet of the Apes filmmaker Matt Reeves later boarded the project as Affleck's replacement. And after some reports indicated that the film would possibly be standalone, Reeves ended up confirming that The Batman IS set within the DCEU. Moreover, Reeves also said that he tossed out Affleck and Geoff Johns' Batman treatment and started developing his neo-noir crime story from scratch, which makes sense since the filmmaker has a history of writing his projects in addition to directing. However, that doesn't mean some of Affleck and Johns' material won't make it onto the big screen. As of last summer, Reeves was still re-writing the script with the hopes of starting production by summer 2018, but it appears that the film will miss that target date.

Related: The Batman: J.K. Simmons Hasn’t Met Matt Reeves Yet

Heroic Hollywood reports that The Batman won't start production until 2019 at the earliest, contrary to previous reports that suggested The Batman was going to start filming later this year. If the film does start rolling cameras early next year, it could potentially hit theaters in mid to late 2020. (Warner Bros. has staked out several 2020 dates for DC films.)

DCEU Batman Ben Affleck

While the 2019 production start for The Batman hasn't been confirmed yet, it does make sense. After all, David F. Sandberg's Shazam! is currently in production, starring Zachary Levi as Shazam and Asher Angel as Billy Batson, with Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 2 expected to start filming this June, featuring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Kristen Wiig as Cheetah. Then, reports indicate that Gavin O'Connor's Suicide Squad 2 and Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley's Flashpoint will also start filming later this year. So, four live-action DC movies is more than enough for Warner Bros. to handle in one year - but that doesn't mean they can't start planning what they want to film next year. The only remaining question is, will Affleck be in the movie?

When Affleck stepped down from writing and directing The Batman, he inadvertently ignited rumors that he wanted to leave the DCEU altogether. But over the past year, several reports have come out that suggesting that very thing, something that the actor later confirmed when he said that he was looking for a way to "segue" out of his Batman role. And now that Reeves wants to potentially pursue his own Batman trilogy, it's unclear if Affleck will remain in the role going forward, given that it would require him resigning his contract with WB. He only has one movie left on his current contract, and that might be used up by him potentially appearing in Flashpoint as Batman. If Affleck does end up leaving the DCEU, then it appears Jake Gyllenhaal step up as the Caped Crusader in Reeves' The Batman film.

More: If Affleck’s Out, The Batman Shouldn’t Be a DCEU Movie

Source: Heroic Hollywood

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