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Report: 'Birds of Prey' takes place in a Batman-less Gotham City

By

Chris Begley

·

on Report: 'Birds of Prey' takes place in a Batman-less Gotham City

Yesterday news broke that Birds of Prey had cast Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary. I used Variety as a source, but the equally reliable Deadline had a key detail about Batman in their report.

According to Deadline, Birds of Prey takes place in a Gotham City that "isn’t protected by Batman". Scooper @DanielRPK has heard that there's a line in the script that mentions Batman hasn't been seen in Gotham for two years.

I'm actually not surprised to hear this. We know that Ben Affleck's future as Batman has been in doubt for well over a year now, and he's in no condition to be making any cameos. If Birds of Prey takes place in Gotham, there needs to be some mention of why Batman isn't there. However, it sounds like we may not learn the exact reason why Batman hasn't been seen for two years... he just hasn't been around, apparently.

How do you feel about Birds of Prey taking place in a Batman-less Gotham? And where do you think he's gone? Let me know in the comments below.

SOURCE: Deadline

This is an archive of Batman-News.com from 2010 to 2025. For the latest news, check out BatmanNews.com

125 comments

  1. Mr F Avatar
    Mr F

    So he's been focusing on large scale threats after Justice League. Could be trying to find Luthor. It's not like the guy's out doing AMA's normally.

    1. ZaQueerdo Avatar
      ZaQueerdo

      I don't expect the Luthor subplot to be revisited anytime soon.

      1. jrvc Avatar
        jrvc

        but I sure would like that to happen...

      2. ZaQueerdo Avatar
        ZaQueerdo

        At this point, teasing another Justice League movie with more Jesse Eisenberg given how poorly the character was received seems like the dumbest thing they could possibly do. Especially since Aquaman is supposed to be their fresh start.

    2. BornAgainPCGamer Avatar
      BornAgainPCGamer

      Superman should be able to find and catch Luthor in 60 seconds flat, with his Superhearing, speed and flight.

      1. Mr F Avatar
        Mr F

        Tell it to 68 years of comic books

  2. Drake Grayson Avatar
    Drake Grayson

    Batman would never leave Gotham unprotected for a long period of time. A few months is one thing, but two years?... The only acceptable reason would be if he had allies in place to do the job for him a la Batman Inc storyline. Black Canary and Huntress could be two of his allies, along with Nightwing, Batgirl/Oracle, Azrael, Batwing and Red Robin/Robin(Tim Drake). In this post JL universe, he also has Cyborg, Diana, Clark and Barry all available to check in on Gotham while he is on an extended absence.

    1. WeHaveNoLivez Avatar
      WeHaveNoLivez

      Agreed

    2. DickyBird Avatar
      DickyBird

      I can only assume it’s an exaggeration from a criminal. Like you said, a couple months, sure, but two years? No way!

      1. Drake Grayson Avatar
        Drake Grayson

        Exactly. Not to mention Joker is running around free in Gotham. The Bruce would not abide that....

  3. Matt Petersheim Avatar
    Matt Petersheim

    I dont care as long as it looks lime Gotham City. I dont want a Christopher Nolan Gotham, i want a comic book Gotham, i'll take a Burton Gotham, i'll even take a Shumacher Gotham.

    1. THE DISCO FRIES Avatar
      THE DISCO FRIES

      Burton Gotham all day. Schumacher is a stretch Matt.

      1. Matt Petersheim Avatar
        Matt Petersheim

        Are you serious? That Gotham City was amazing. Ignore how you feel about the movies but the look of Black/Grey buildings splashed with neon colors is a great look. Thats Gotham City.

        1. THE DISCO FRIES Avatar
          THE DISCO FRIES

          It looked more like the set of a movie premiere in the middle of Hong Kong. Flashy and fun but that's not the city we needed or deserved.

          1. Matt Petersheim Avatar
            Matt Petersheim

            Ok, take it easy Christian Bale. Im not saying everything has to look like those movies but that style. Did you play Arkham City? That city had the Shumacher Style/Look. And it was great.

          2. Mark Avatar
            Mark

            Burton's Gotham (which I preferred) came out of the noir Golden Age of the character. Schumacher's Gotham (especially in Batman Forever) was an homage to Dick Sprang's Silver Age books. Both were legit versions of the city. The one I cared least for was the ordinary city of the latter two Nolan films, which reflected the boxy Gotham of the early Bronze Age.

          3. Matt Petersheim Avatar
            Matt Petersheim

            Yeah, im not a fan of the realistic looking Gotham City. Gotham isnt a real city, dont treat it like one.

          4. THE DISCO FRIES Avatar
            THE DISCO FRIES

            Burton's Gotham all day. Definitely liked the look in Arkham City for a video game but I don't know that it translated as well in film.

          5. Atom/Ryan Choi Avatar
            Atom/Ryan Choi

            Doesn't matter if Gotham is real or not, Is always nice to make things realistic imo.

          6. myzterius Avatar
            myzterius

            Not really.. The noir look of gotham is what makes it great. Making it look like chicago removes that special effect.

          7. Matt Petersheim Avatar
            Matt Petersheim

            Making Super Hero movies look realistic is my biggest problem with the Marvel movies. Besides Gaurdians and Ragnorak, they all look like crap. They're just grey, action movies.

        2. HunterKnight Avatar
          HunterKnight

          You mean a Gotham City with a Cyberpunk vibe? I dig it.

    2. Tom Avatar
      Tom

      I quite liked the brief Whedon Gotham we got!

      1. Matt Petersheim Avatar
        Matt Petersheim

        Yeah, you're right. There was a scene where Wonder Woman was getting out of her car that caught my eye. I thought it looked like Gotham.

        1. Tom Avatar
          Tom

          I’m referring to the scene with Batman and the Parademon at the beginning!

      2. Tom Avatar
        Tom

        I thought I remember reading he added that scene?

        1. myzterius Avatar
          myzterius

          He did.

          1. KING OF AMERICA Avatar
            KING OF AMERICA

            That was a Snyder scene. Whedon changed the coloring and the music.

          2. myzterius Avatar
            myzterius

            No it wasnt, they were multiple articles confirming that was a whedon scene. Just google it.

    3. C.H Avatar
      C.H

      I really liked the Nolan Gotham in begins and TDK. Epsecially the Narrows in Begins.

  4. ZaQueerdo Avatar
    ZaQueerdo

    After seeing the reception to his fight with Superman and Doomsday and then the Parademons, Batman began having serious second thoughts about whether or not he still wanted to do this vigilante thing.

    1. mr nobody Avatar
      mr nobody

      Not to mention Batman is a vigilante because he feels the need to do it, it's not a hobby for him, he doesn't do it to please anyone either

  5. gabi bats Avatar
    gabi bats

    Bruce just happened to be on vacation when shit got serious.

    1. gabi bats Avatar
      gabi bats

      hell yeah

  6. Knight-Errant Avatar
    Knight-Errant

    Hmm. I wonder if they’ll start a revolution then?

    https://youtu.be/hlc9GumnSq8

  7. Kondorr Avatar
    Kondorr

    Maybe he is in his cave getting of the VENOM drug, but instead of a month, it takes 2 years?

    I am not really a fan of starting without bats and than working backwards to the reason, but i hope they dont waste this narrative opportunity.

    1. Kondorr Avatar
      Kondorr

      Maybe they could introduce paul valley or graysons batman at the end...

  8. rtxj Avatar
    rtxj

    So can we start to get Nightwing then. If Affleck doesn’t continue as Batman, why not have Grayson’s Nightwing transition to Batman. Have him mentioned in this movie or cameo at the end, then really introduce him in a solo Nightwing movie. Then in that Batgirl movie have him really take over as Batman

  9. Mike 201 Avatar
    Mike 201

    This crap coming out of WB/DC gets worse by the day. It’s a wonder they have a film fan base left.

  10. BatmanNewsChris Avatar
    BatmanNewsChris

    He’s at home! Washin’ his tights!!

    1. Sassybat Avatar
      Sassybat

      so he is at home naked......

    2. Mark Avatar
      Mark

      +1!

  11. BatmanNewsChris Avatar
    BatmanNewsChris

    I wonder how Jared Leto’s Joker fits into all this. He’d have to have some kind of cameo too, right?

    1. ZaQueerdo Avatar
      ZaQueerdo

      Don't jinx this movie!

    2. Drake Grayson Avatar
      Drake Grayson

      The Joker being loose in Gotham is the biggest reason why Batman would need to be there. He would never leave Gotham while that maniac is free to fuck shit up.

    3. Kerk Lastnameless Avatar
      Kerk Lastnameless

      You're applying reason there. Don't.

    4. Drake Grayson Avatar
      Drake Grayson

      A good twist at the end of film would be showing that Harley hasn’t turned good in trying to take down Black Mask, but rather was using Birds of Prey to help eliminate Joker’s competition for King of Gotham’s Underworld. This will show her manipulative skills and true allegiance to Joker after convincing crime fighting women she was done with his abusive relationship.

  12. WhitePortuguese Avatar
    WhitePortuguese

    The Knightfall Protocol

  13. C.H Avatar
    C.H

    I’d hope so. Or it might not matter that much if Reeves film is set further back in time.

  14. ZaQueerdo Avatar
    ZaQueerdo

    They are probably hedging their bets to see where they wanna go. If Affleck doesn't return then they're probably gonna let Reeves do an all new take that pretty much ignores what came before, so they don't wanna commit to anything right now.

  15. El Catalan Libanes Avatar
    El Catalan Libanes

    He could've gone the week that all this shit happens, but TWO YEARS? Fuck off.

  16. Kryptonian Knight Avatar
    Kryptonian Knight

    Batman is in rehab people! Duhhh...

  17. thefallen83 Avatar
    thefallen83

    That's what happens when Alfred convinces you to move on with your life and forget about being the Batman.

  18. OptimistPrime99 Avatar
    OptimistPrime99

    https://uploads.disquscdn.c... https://uploads.disquscdn.c... https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

  19. Ned Ryerson Avatar
    Ned Ryerson

    Bat-rehab!

  20. AquamanIsCool Avatar
    AquamanIsCool

    That's fine, whatever

  21. Flower & Monster & Golden Calf Avatar
    Flower & Monster & Golden Calf

    Batman doesn't show up in every comic, even though he's in a lot of them.

    1. mr nobody Avatar
      mr nobody

      No one is complaining that he won't be in the movie, the complaints are about the fact that no one has seen him in two years

  22. BatmanNewsChris Avatar
    BatmanNewsChris

    I think we’re over thinking things. Remember, the DCEU was created on the fly. There’s isn’t some master plan here. They’ll just say Batman’s been away and that’s it. We can’t try to put the pieces together and figure out where this fits in the DCEU timeline. Things are going to feel very disconnected going forward.

    1. Iss Avatar
      Iss

      There was a plan that was changed after BvS, it was supposed that batman will die in JL2 or the 5th part of ZS movies, BoP is supposed to be 3 years after JL1?

    2. NinjaGamer13 Avatar
      NinjaGamer13

      What a joy it is when so little planning is done

    3. Mark Avatar
      Mark

      The other thing is, what does Matt Reeves have a lock on? If his film is supposed to fit within the DCEU, he has dibs on his place in the sandbox.

    4. Kerk Lastnameless Avatar
      Kerk Lastnameless

      And that will result in DC bleeding whatever viewers it has left. GA is way past solo comic book movies at this point.

    5. NinjaGamer13 Avatar
      NinjaGamer13

      The fact you continue to call him Reeves’sesse’es makes me so happy, lol

  23. Fréaláf Hildeson Avatar
    Fréaláf Hildeson

    Finally all the people who always ask "Where's Batman? Why doesn't Batman come and help?" whenever Batman isn't on screen in a DC movie or TV show will have an answer.

  24. The Doctor Avatar
    The Doctor

    Maybe they’re worried Batman would overshadow the main cast? Even as a possible cameo? Seems silly you have this winning poker hand but never use it.

  25. Jay Pay Avatar
    Jay Pay

    Lame. This movie shouldn’t be happening.

  26. Jay Pay Avatar
    Jay Pay

    After seeing the failure and embarrassment of the Justice League movie, Batman has disappeared. He, Flash and Alfred are working on a time machine to go back in time before JL, even before BvS to fix everything.

    1. Fréaláf Hildeson Avatar
      Fréaláf Hildeson

      Batman was in BvS, JL, Suicide Squad, and mentioned to begin Wonder Woman.
      Add to that Lego:Batman and Teen Titans Go - it is time for Batvacations.

  27. NinjaGamer13 Avatar
    NinjaGamer13

    I really hope they care enough to do that, but I’m honestly not very confident

  28. ZaQueerdo Avatar
    ZaQueerdo

    Gotham: Where has Batman gone in our hour of need?

    Batman:

    https://ic.pics.livejournal...

  29. LOGOS Avatar
    LOGOS

    He's at home! Washing his tights!

  30. jrvc Avatar
    jrvc

    And? just like any comic set in gotham where Batman doesn't appear...

    The focus is on the birds and it's not like Batman can appear everywhere at once! So unless they mention that explicitly in the movie there's no more to this. Let's not overthink this, guys!

    1. NinjaGamer13 Avatar
      NinjaGamer13

      Two years is a very long time for Batman to be missing

      1. jrvc Avatar
        jrvc

        but are they going to explicitly say that? because maybe it's just that he is busy with whatever at that moment and that's and people is overexaggerating this as it usually happens : /

    2. Knight-Errant Avatar
      Knight-Errant

      Marvel comics use to think Wolverine could!!

    3. mr nobody Avatar
      mr nobody

      Yeah, that's the thing. If he's just not in it, it doesn't matter. But if they explicitly say no one has seen him in two years then wtf

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This is an archive of Batman-News.com from 2010 to 2025. For the latest news, check out BatmanNews.com