James Gunn and Peter Safron have revealed that The Batman and Joker films are DC Studio's first movies set in the Elseworlds continuity.
Per Screen Rant, Gunn and Safron announced the retroactive Elseworlds label along with a slate of TV and movies for the new era of DC screen adaptations. The films received critical acclaim on their release, though 2019's Joker garnered some controversy, but fans of the movies have questioned their place in the DC Universe. Previously, DC and Warner Bros. had expressed interest in bringing the Elseworlds to life in a screen adaptation, though it has been unclear when it would take off.
What is Elseworlds?
The Elseworlds DC series share some resemblance to Marvel's What If...? stories in that they reside outside the regular canon. However, unlike What If...?, the Elseworlds stories are completely self-contained instead of jumping off from a point of divergence from the regular story. In this way, The Batman and Joker now officially exist within their own canon outside the other DC Studios films.
However, Safron emphasized that while the DCU is a multiverse, the main films would follow a single continuity. He noted that anything that does not count as part of the DCU, "we're gonna make that clear," and noted that The Batman and Joker films fall into this category. Moving forward, anything that is non-DCU will be labeled as such.
DC Announces Film and TV Slate
As part of his announcements today, Gunn and Safron revealed several upcoming DC TV series, including Green Lantern and a Wonder Woman prequel. Gunn had previously confirmed an unannounced DCU TV series in the works, though he did not reveal the subject of the project. The duo also unveiled a new slate of films, with Batman, Superman, Supergirl and Swamp Thing as the headline stars of the first wave.
The team also announced a sequel to Matt Reeves' 2022 The Batman flick. That film, titled The Batman Part II sees Pattinson return to the cowl and hits theaters on Oct. 3, 2025. The Joker film also has a sequel in the works, though this one will be a musical. Singer/Actor Lady Gaga joins Pheonix as Harley Quinn, though other details about the project remain unknown. The movie, titled Joker: Folie à Deux, is scheduled to release on Oct. 4, 2024.
Source: DC Studios, Screen Rant