The Batman director Matt Reeves has recently revealed that the movie was sold to him as a "standalone" project, and that has now raised questions about the movie's DC Extended Universe connections. The news comes after rumors of a Joker origins movie are starting to gain momentum, which will be an interesting piece that stands outside the DCEU, and something that fans have been asking about for years. The news has yet to be confirmed, but the Joker news also brings up the same question, which is: Where will does all of this stuff fit? Apparently, Warner Bros. is kicking off a second standalone universe outside of the DCEU.

Matt Reeves recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter's Kim Masters on her podcast, The Business, to talk about War for the Planet of the Apes. When asked about The Batman, Reeves talked about first being approached to take over the reins on the project. He had this to say.

"When they approached me, what they said was look, it's a standalone. This isn't part of the Extended Universe."

This is a very interesting way to put out that information. Reeves could be just talking and not truly thinking about the implications of what he's talking about, but that doesn't seem like something Reeves would do. It is also interesting to note that Kim Masters broke the story about Ben Affleck's exit from the DCEU, which may or may not be true at this point. That bit of information coupled with what Matt Reeves has just said could very well indicate that the movie will be outside of the conventional DCEU, but this is all speculation at this point. However, it could be that Reeves is making The Batman a standalone movie and keeping him from having to connect it to past and present movies from within the DCEU, which would be a welcome change for Warner Bros. and the DCEU at this point.

The director's words on The Batman project do make sense when thinking about the news of a Joker origin story. It could be quite possible that the DCEU is setting The Batman and Joker movies under their Elseworlds-style banner, which would make a lot of sense. At this point it is still entirely too early to tell, but it could be buying time to figure out Ben Affleck's future as the Caped Crusader.

Regardless of where The Batman movie lines up with the DCEU, Matt Reeves is set to deliver a take on Batman that many have been waiting to see for years on the big screen. Reeves has teased a return to the detective roots for the Dark Knight and has started from scratch on a new script that promises to be a psychological trip this time around. Whether Affleck stays on board at this point is still unknown, but the actor has vaguely pointed to staying with Warner Bros. and the DCEU for now. Next up for Batman is the Justice League movie, which is firmly rooted within the DCEU anything afterwards is anyone's guess at this time.