James Gunn, the co-head of DC Studios, has assured fans on more than one occasion that Robert Pattinson’s Batman will never appear in the DC Universe. This means that there is no chance of him ever crossing paths with David Corenswet’s Superman, who will have his own Batman to fight alongside (or against) at some point.
Because I do love the idea of Matt Reeves’ take on the Dark Knight existing in its own continuity, and for Gunn to have the freedom to create Elseworlds stories outside of the DCU, I have fully accepted that these two new iterations of DC Comics’ most iconic characters will never share the screen. However, that does not change the fact that I absolutely want to see them together in an upcoming DC movie. Allow me to explain…
Their Mismatched Dichotomy Would Make For A Fun Buddy Movie
common complaint about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is that the film makes the characters too tonally similar.
new 2025 movie, Superman, has been praised for depicting the title hero as far more hopeful and optimistic than more recent cinematic incarnations, while 2022’s The Batman was noted for presenting just about the darkest, moodiest Dark Knight yet. If I am not mistaken, throwing together two people with dramatically differing personalities is the formula for the best buddy cop movies ever, and this could likely be no exception.
Pattinson’s Batman Could Learn From Corenswet’s Optimism
An important point to keep in mind is that Robert Pattinson’s Batman and David Corenswet’s Superman share the same goal of making the world a better place, just with drastically different ways of going about it (and not just because one of them is not human). Bruce Wayne even realizes in The Batman’s ending that he would better serve Gotham as a symbol of hope instead of vengeance.
You know who could give Bats some great pointers on being more hopeful? You guessed it! Clark Kent, who even goes through a similar stage of disappointment as Batman in Superman when he discovers his parents may not have been who he thought they were, but comes out of it stronger than ever. As someone curious to see a “Battinson” who holds his head a little higher, I’d say a run-in with Supes might be in order.
I’m Curious To See Pattinson’s Batman Fight Something Otherwordly With Superman
One reason why The Batman is actually my all-time favorite live-action Batman movie is that unlike most of the Caped Crusader’s cinematic adventures, it is an old-fashioned detective story set in a gritty and astonishingly realistic world. That being said, because I love Robert Pattinson’s portrayal so much, I think it would also be really fun to see him take on some of the stranger foes in his rogues gallery, like Killer Croc or Poison Ivy, or even something from beyond Earth.
As I see it, the best way to make sense of seeing this Batman in a fight of unusual circumstances is to have it start off as Superman’s problem. Then, through a series of incidents that involve Lex Luthor’s interdimensional portal, he would accidentally bring the action to Matt Reeves’ Gotham, where Supes and Bats would join forces and rely on each other’s best assets (the Dark Knight’s strategist skills and the Man of Steel’s… well, everything) and stop it once and for all. Honestly, that could be the plot of a great World’s Finest movie.
Then again, I’m sure I’ll have fun with whatever James Gunn and Peter Safran actually do end up coming up with for a World’s Finest adventure in the main DCU continuity. I also have faith in them to select a great choice for their official Batman (though it better be Alan Ritchson). Maybe, if not an upcoming superhero movie, Pattinson’s Batman and Corenswet’s Superman could cross paths in a decent fan film or one-shot comic book, which might be close enough for me.