Batman may not suit up again until 2019.

Director Matt Reeves recently debunked rumors that suggested he would be departing Warner Bros.’ upcoming solo Batman movie. That said, it seems like he won’t begin actually directing the film for at least another year.

According to Heroic Hollywood, the film won’t begin production until 2019 because Warner Bros. already has three DC Films projects set to shoot in 2018. Shazam is already in production. Wonder Woman 2 is set to follow after that, and then the Joker origin story movie thereafter.

If The Batman doesn’t start rolling until 2019, that means the film probably won’t be released until 2020 or 2021, eight or nine years after the last Batman solo movie, The Dark Knight Rises. That will be the longest wait between solo Batman movies since the franchise was rebooted between Batman & Robin in 1997 and Batman Begins in 2005, and possibly the longest wait since Warner Bros. launched the modern Batman film franchise with Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989.

The last time Matt Reeves offered an update on the status of The Batman he stated that he has the story, though not the script, worked out.

Just because The Batman won’t open for another few years doesn’t mean fans won’t see Batman on screen. Ben Affleck - who has so far played Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League - is rumored to appear in the upcoming Flash movie, titled Flashpoint.

However, reports suggest that Affleck is conflicted on whether to continue playing DC Comics’ Dark Knight as the role has already taken up more of his time than he expected. The same report suggests that Warner Bros. is not entirely happy with the results of Affleck playing Batman, a casting decision they expected to pay dividends similar to what Marvel Studios got out of casting Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. However, the report says that the decision on whether to continue or recast is still in Affleck’s hands.

Justice League is now available on Digitial HD, Blu-ray, and DVD. Other upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020.

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