Major Batman Spinoff Movie Has Reportedly Been Mothballed Following Ben Affleck’s DCU Exit
Since new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios and decided to start their own DC Universe and discontinue the DCEU. With James Gunn recently clarifying that Ben Affleck was never supposed to appear in Blue Beetle even though fans were curious to see him on-screen since he did not get a proper goodbye movie; fans have been disappointed ever since.
A recent studio update has undoubtedly left the fans unhappy once more as one of the much anticipated DC projects was shelved. The character had a successful solo comic run and was well-liked in other media, therefore the fans are not happy. Let’s learn more.
Also Read: James Gunn’s Blue Beetle Earned Less Money Than Marvel’s Most Infamous Movie
Ben Affleck’s Batman Spin-off movie axed by DC Studios
Since James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the co-CEOs of DC Studios and their plan to develop DC Universe and bring an end to the DCEU, fans are speculating on how this new change will work out of the blue. The duo have axed a couple of projects that they think maybe do not need to be made, but the recently canceled show Nightwing; Ben Affleck‘s Batman spinoff was something people were looking forward to watching.
The movie had been in development for years and now reports suggest that Chris McKay’s take on Dick Grayson might have fallen through DC Studios. According to Umberto Gonzalez of The Wrap shared on his social media while replying to a tweet from a user suggesting that they just want the studios to let McKay work on his Nightwing movie and replied;
“That project is dead.” It was noted earlier that McKay had designs to lead a movie focusing on Ben Affleck’s Batman’s sidekick; Robin/ Richard Grayson, when he grew up and took the mantle of the Nightwing.
I hope Chris McKay still gets to work on his Nightwing movie. pic.twitter.com/gFRBGJx8Vv
— Home of DCU (@homeofdcu) August 21, 2023
Chris McKay had held onto the hope of working on Nightwing
During a conversation with SFX Magazine earlier this year, the director mentioned that he has high hopes that he could work on the movie with DC Studios’ new bosses, Gunn and Safran. He said,
“Look, I am still hoping to do something about it. Now that James Gunn is involved… I haven’t had any conversations with him or anybody over there, but I love that character. I hope I can do something with him. That would be amazing.”
Over the years, it has been noted that the studios had struggled to get the movie into development, just like how The Flash, which was announced back in 2014, was recently released with much higher expectations but it did not perform well at the box office. Along with that, the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery shook up any projects in development.
Nightwing was announced as a part of DCEU in 2017 and was supposed to be connected to Ben Affleck’s Batman movie but it was later changed to potentially being a solo movie with very little connection to the DCEU. He shared that the movie is a big, action-packed, emotional movie.
The director had shared in another interview at the time, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s not lost yet. It is obviously something that… [Warner Bros. and DC have] had other priorities, they’ve had other challenges. They’d had things that they needed to do, and I think that they found their way, with their recent successes, and the stuff that they are planning on doing now. I think it opens the door for us to still be able to do a Nightwing movie.”
Also Read: Biggest Differences Between James Gunn’s DCU and Zack Snyder’s Snyderverse
Fans hoping Nightwing will appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
As soon as it was announced that the studios had axed the movie, the fans who had been waiting for the movie to go into development and premiere were left disappointed and they took to their social media to express their disappointment.
Some of them pointed out that they have not given up on the movie completely as they are hoping that Nightwing will appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, with another adding that it’s sad but they have a feeling that Gunn has some plans for the character in the future. A section of fans said that they were not surprised at this cancellation as it’s not the first time DC Studios decided to cancel a movie the audience had been waiting for.
McKay had revealed, “That was going to be a father and son story and also a revenge movie, which I was really excited about because there’s a lot going on in that script. It was going to be really primal and pared down and like a real red meat movie in the best way”.
Warner Bros. Discovery is yet to announce the project being axed by the studios, but since there has been no update over the years, fans have believed that it has been axed.
Source: Twitter
