No 'Justice League' for Christopher Nolan; 'Man of Steel' could lead to other DC characters

As Marvel gears up to launch their next wave of films on the way to The Avengers 2, Warner Bros. is basically stuck in neutral with their DC superheroes. There have been regular, conflicting rumors on the approach they intend to take going forward, made all the more complicated by Christopher Nolan's wrapping up his run on Batman with The Dark Knight Rises. He's back producing Man of Steel, setting the tone for the future of their superhero line, but his involvement beyond that has been the subject of much debate.

WB President Jeff Rubinov took to Entertainment Weekly to set the record straight, and when asked if the persistent rumor of Nolan and Christian Bale returning for Justice League were true, he said simply said "No, no it's not".  It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as he's clearly moved on to his sci-fi film Interstellar. Nolan's reps also went on to confirm the statement.

The bigger question at hand is what Man of Steel will signify for the rest of their cinematic universe. Does the Zack Snyder-directed film utterly leave behind Nolan's Batman trilogy? Or does it leave the door open to an approach similar to Marvel's?

Rubinov: “I think you’ll see that, going forward, anything can live in this world. [Nolan’s] Batman was deliberately and smartly positioned as a stand-alone. The world they lived in was very isolated without any knowledge of any other superheroes. What Zack and Chris have done with this film is allow you to really introduce other characters into the same world.”

That sounds like a definite affirmative that future films will at least recognize the presence of Superman, taking place in the same world. But what about Nolan's trilogy? At the same time, Rubinov suggests that Nolan's were always meant to isolated. Is he saying that they will stand-alone? His answer seems to be trying to have it both ways.

Rubinov: “They do. Or they did. Where we go in the future is a whole other conversation.”

It sounds as if Rubinov is leaving the door open to revisit Nolan's trilogy in some way. Or he could mean that the next Batman films will be wide open, allowing for appearances from other DC heroes. Whatever he was trying to say, either option will have fans buzzing about the possibilities, like Joseph Gordon-Levitt donning the cape and cowl.

So there are still more questions than answers Warner Bros.' plans. Do they have someone in mind to direct Justice League? What's going on with the trashed script by Will Beal? Will they take the Marvel approach and produce solo films with their iconic characters first? Rubinov promises answers will be on the way soon....

Rubinov:  “We’ll announce something in the next several weeks that will hopefully position the DC characters and the movies we’re going to be making."