Will Batman Appear In Aquaman 2?

Things have been bumpy for DC movies over the past year. There's been an attempt to bring a greater sense of interconnectivity to these films, with Superman (Henry Cavill) showing up in "Black Adam" and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) having a cameo in "Shazam! Fury of the Gods." Of course, all of this may be for naught, as James Gunn and Peter Safran, as the new heads of DC Studios, plan on rebooting the DC film franchise starting with a new take on the Man of Steel with "Superman: Legacy." The upcoming "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" represents the final breath from the old guard, and what many people still want to know is whether Batman, any Batman, will show up at some point.

Early reports suggested Michael Keaton's version of the character, who appeared this year in "The Flash," would be in it. However, later reports said he was swapped out with Ben Affleck's Batman. This made greater sense, seeing how Ben Affleck is the DCEU's Batman who already appeared alongside Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) in "Justice League." However, with "Aquaman 2" undergoing so many reshoots over the last year, there's doubt as to whether Affleck is even in the movie anymore. Affleck is still listed in the cast on IMDb, but that website isn't always accurate or up-to-date with the latest news. 

So ... is Batman in "Aquaman 2?"

The "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" trailer doesn't clear up matters, either. Batman is nowhere to be found, and it would be tough for him to have any kind of substantial role given the plot of Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) trying to usurp Aquaman's kingdom and destroy his family. With much of the film taking place underwater, it's not like Bruce Wayne can go lend a helping hand when he wants. If Batman is going to appear in any capacity, it would likely be a brief cameo similar to Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman showing up for a scene in "Shazam! Fury of the Gods."

Michael Keaton's Batman has really been underserved within the new DCEU. He was supposed to appear in "Batgirl," but that film got unjustly shelved for a tax write-off. And even though he was reportedly set to appear in "Aquaman 2," that's not happening at this point. Ben Affleck's Batman could appear, but there's a chance DC simply wants "Aquaman 2" to stand on its own. Affleck got a fairly decent send-off for the character in "The Flash," giving Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) a talk about how it's important to let the past go. Perhaps audiences need to do the same and realize Affleck isn't coming back. 

There's also a chance DC wants to keep a Batman appearance secret until the film comes out. We won't know anything for sure until "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" comes out on December 20.