Zach Cregger’s got Weapons out this weekend, but the man apparently never stops working. Not only is he working on a new Resident Evil movie, but he’s also cooked up an idea for DC Studios that we now know a little bit more about.
According to the Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision newsletter, Cregger’s DC movie is currently known as Henchman. The pitch? The trade’s sources say a low-level goon in Gotham City manages to take down Batman thanks to “a stroke of luck,” after which he becomes the talk of the supervillain town. It’s also said that Batman could “briefly” show up in the movie, as would Harley Quinn and Joker.
Although Cregger has vaguely talked about a “Batman-adjacent” project he’s wanted to do for years at this point, it should be clear that Henchman is not in the works in any capacity just yet. The project hasn’t been formally pitched yet, according to THR, but James Gunn and Peter Safran reportedly know he’s interested in working with them.
But let’s go back to that premise. It’ll sound familiar to some Bat-fans: it was the plot of “The Man Who Killed Batman,” a Batman: The Animated Series episode about a small-time gang member, Sid, who becomes responsible for the Dark Knight’s seeming death, propelling him to criminal stardom. Joker and Harley featured prominently in that episode, which further connects the episode to Henchman. The only real challenges are that right now, WB doesn’t have a Batman or Joker cast yet, and while Harley could possibly be played again by Margot Robbie, it would remain to be seen if the project acted as an Elseworlds-style tale or would be considered as part of the DC Studios continuity. There may even be a limit to what villains Cregger can use, since some could pop up in The Batman Part II or its eventual sequel, and WB doesn’t want to cause confusion by doubling up between its vision of Gotham and what the DCU has in store for The Brave and the Bold.
Should Cregger and DC Studios meet up, we could get another Batman-adjacent movie in the near future, joining the ranks of Clayface, Dynamic Duo, and Teen Titans.
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