This has been one of those good-news/bad-news days for fans of D.C. Comics and big-screen adaptations of the company’s beloved superheroes. First came the good news that Zack Snyder’s anticipated Superman reboot, Man of Steel, was earning a PG-13 rating for “intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction” … all of the things Supes fans were hoping to see in Superman Returns. That bodes well for that movie, due in theaters in June 14.

 

Now the bad news.

 

Reputable Batman fan site Batman On Film cites a “friend” close to those in the know at Warner Bros. doesn’t plan to have a new Batman standalone film in theaters until 2017 … at the earliest. 

 

The site says that the “new” cinematic Batman will be introduced as part of the Justice League movie, which Warner still hopes to have in theaters in 2015. Do the math, and that likely means that 2017 is the earliest a solo Batman movie could be in multiplexes. That would be a full five years after Christopher Nolan wrapped up his groundbreaking Dark Knight trilogy. 

 

But BOF brings up an interesting point. What if the Justice League movie tanks? And what if fans specifically respond negatively to the Batman portrayed in that ensemble? Will Warner still want to move forward with a Batman franchise based on that hero? Will they reboot the mythology once again? Is this the vicious cycle superhero fans are stuck in now?  

 

The site suggests postponing Justice League, giving the heroes of the D.C. Universe chance to develop and breathe on screen. And while I do think characters like Wonder Woman and The Flash likely should get their own movies in time, I’m not ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater by abandoning a JLA movie altogether. Batman has survived Joel Schumacher. He can survive a mediocre JLA movie … if, in fact, that’s what we end up with. 

 

For now, let the speculation begin. All we have is time, Batman fans.  

 

Follow along on Twitter @Sean_OConnell and @Fandango.