Warner Bros' Reeves cast Robert Pattinson as Batman, effectively severing the movie's real ties to the DCEU. This was further indicated when Jeffrey Wright was cast as Police Commissioner Jim Gordon and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, since those roles in the DCEU were portrayed by J.K. Simmons and Jeremy Irons.
For its part, The Batman is introducing a whole slew of DC Comics characters, not just Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon and Alfred. Zoe Kravitz is playing Batman's sometimes-ally, sometimes-foe Catwoman while villains Penguin, The Riddler and Carmine Falcone will be portrayed by Colin Farrell, Paul Dano and John Turturro, respectively. Now, with the news of Reeves developing a Batman TV show for HBO Max, it seems Warner Bros. is determined to build out a full shared universe - and the studio confirmed as much in the annoucement.
In the official announcement of The Batman TV show about Gotham PD, it's stated the series is "ultimately launching a new Batman universe across multiple platforms." Although there are no other movies or TV shows confirmed to follow The Batman and the new Gotham police procedural TV show, this statement seems to indicate Warner Bros. has plans for a larger Batman shared universe across both film and television.
Considering the number of Batman-related characters in the DC Comics, there's more than enough material to mine for a full-blown Batman shared universe entirely separate to the DCEU. Batman-related heroes - including Batgirl, Batwoman, Nightwing, Robin etc. - could be perfect for their own spinoffs, though certain iterations of these characters already lead TV shows or are the center of film projects. And that doesn't even begin to cover villain-led spinoffs, which could focus on Kravitz's Catwoman or other villains from The Batman, the Gotham PD TV show or the comics. All that's to say that if Warner Bros. wants to establish and develop a shared universe of movies and TV shows based on just Batman characters, that's more than possible with the wealth of heroes and villains from the comics.
Further, if Warner Bros. did want to connect this Batman universe to the DCEU proper, they could use The Flash movie to do so, since it's reported to introduce the multiverse to the films. The CW's Crisis on Infinite Earths already confirmed the DCEU is one universe in a larger DC multiverse that includes most DC movies and TV shows. All Warner Bros. has to do is establish The Batman and its spinoffs as being set in another universe within the multiverse to eliminate any confusion among viewers - and they'd get the benefit of connecting the two franchises. That said, Batman IP is strong enough to build into a successful universe by itself, so even if this franchise exists entirely separate from the DCEU, it's likely to be a hit. Based on the spinoff getting the green light, Warner Bros. is already confident in its burgeoning The Batman universe.
Source: HBO Max
