DC fans were happy to hear that Matt Reeves' The Batman might be loosely based on A Death in the Family storyline, according to a new rumor. If true, it would see a younger Bruce Wayne on the big screen, which suggests that Ben Affleck won't be returning to play the Caped Crusader. Reports of Affleck's departure from the project have been swirling for over a year now, so that wouldn't be too much of a shock. Though, sadly, now we have a so-called 'confirmed' report that this Death of Jason Todd rumor is nothing but fake news.

The death of Jason Todd would be an intriguing storyline for The Batman and would go a long way in showcasing another look into Bruce Wayne's head. Todd's suit was shown in Batman v Superman, and his death is referenced in Suicide Squad when it's revealed that Harley Quinn helped the Joker kill Robin. The Robin/Jason Todd story has already been established within the DCEU, so this all sounded plausible. Additionally, Matt Reeves has indicated in the past that he wants The Batman to be "a very emotional Batman story," which also gives the rumor some added weight.

The Jason Todd as Robin storyline is something that fans have been waiting to see on the big screen, but the rumor suggested that The Batman would deal with the aftermath of his death and Bruce Wayne's way of dealing with it. A Death in the Family was said to not be the only source material, and may only be alluded to in Matt Reeves' new story. Even a tease of the Jason Todd story would be good enough for some fans who have been collecting the Robin Easter Eggs within the DCEU.

Alas, it will not come to pass. An insider with direct knowledge of the situation at hand reached out to The Wrap, telling that this was unfounded and 100% not true. Though, this movie has seen nothing but turbulence from the get-go, so who knows what it will eventually become in the end. Warner Bros. and DC Films probably don't even really know.

In other news concerning The Batman, Matt Reeves was recently asked about his progress on the script, to which he replied that everything was good. There's been rumors that he was leaving the project, which he has denied. The director/writer is just taking his time with the story after starting over from scratch. It was reported late last year that Matt Reeves had the story outline completed and that all he had to do was formulate the story into a script.

We're still quite a long way from seeing The Batman on the big screen, but it appears that things are finally moving smoothly for the project after a period of drama. The movie is expected to go into production next year, which means that it'll more than likely be released in 2020. As for whether or not Ben Affleck will be returning to portray Bruce Wayne again, that's anybody's guess at the moment, but if this new rumor proves turns around and proves to be true, it would seem that a younger actor will be brought in to portray the character. You can check out the original report about the possible addition of the Jason Todd storyline into The Batman from Manabyte.