In true DCEU fashion, where there is smoke, there is most definitely a fire. After months of rumors suggesting that Ben Affleck was out of Matt Reeves' The Batman project, it now appears to be true. A new report released today pointed to a quote from Reeves implying that The Batman is a standalone movie and that it will take place outside of the DCEU. The reporter, Kim Masters, who Reeves relayed the information to, was also the same reporter that broke the initial story about Ben Affleck bailing on the project.

And in another interesting turn of events, Warner Bros. and DC announced yet another Joker movie, but this time with Harley Quinn. Buried in The Hollywood Reporter article announcing the new Joker/Quinn movie is a very interesting piece of information that echoes the rumors that have been swirling for months: Ben Affleck will not be portraying the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves' The Batman. The article explains.

"Matt Reeves' The Batman, for example, is intended to not be connected to the Justice League universe but to be set in a different time period and star another actor."

This is all starting to make sense, but at the same time, what the hell is going on over there? Ben Affleck was seen at Comic-Con telling the world that he would be playing Batman for as long as the studio wanted him to do so. While that was a pretty vague answer, it all makes sense now. Even Casey Affleck's recent brotherly love "joke" concerning his brother and The Batman appears to have been true as well. There has been a whirlwind of craziness surrounding Warner Bros. and DC lately, but now they've thrown an earthquake wrapped in a hurricane nestled in a box of tsunamis at all of us. Have Warners and DC officially jumped the shark?

The new line, or label, whatever DC and Warner Bros. are going to call it is about to make some movies outside of the DCEU timeline and The Batman will be one of those movies alongside the recently announced Joker origin story movie. This leads to a bunch of new questions concerning who will be the new Batman in Reeves' version of the story. Also, will Jeffrey Dean Morgan get a shot at playing the Dark Knight in the recently announced Flashpoint movie? It sure seems that anything is possible at the current time.

DC and Warner Bros. are either geniuses or they're playing fast and loose with some of the most beloved comic book heroes in history. Either way, if you though things were confusing before, they're about to get even more confusing. We could possibly see three new actors portraying Batman in the next few years. Flashpoint Batman, Justice League Batman, and finally the version that we'll see in Matt Reeves' The Batman. For those keeping track, Affleck signed on to direct, write, and star in The Batman and now, one by one, he's fallen off the project entirely. Let the arguments begin.