Man of Steel writer says Warner Bros. wanted the Dark Knight movies to be part of an extended universe

Man of Steel writer David S. Goyer has said that Warner Bros. wanted Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy to be part of an expanded universe.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter if the Superman solo being part of the Nolan-verse was discussed, Goyer, who also wrote on Nolan’s trilogy, said: "Not amongst us when I was doing Man of Steel, or among Nolan and myself. Chris always wanted to keep the Dark Knight films as a separate entity and [the studio] kept wanting, understandably, to pull him into a whole DC expanded universe. Chris obviously was a producer on Man of Steel, and it's tempting to think they were linked, but they really weren't. I mean, I'm sure one could retroactively do it."

Zack Snyder, who directed Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League, recently said that the Superman movie and Nolan's trilogy could have ended up linked. "It was not 100 percent off the table," he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "We did talk about it a little bit."

The Dark Knight trilogy still stands alone, while Snyder's DC movies form part of the DCEU. His Snyder Cut of Justice League, however, is not considered canon, so upcoming DC movies like The Suicide Squad and The Flash won't be linked to its events.

Meanwhile, Goyer has been busy working on another comic book to screen adaptation. He's co-developing Netflix's The Sandman TV show with original writer Neil Gaiman, and Allan Heinberg. The series will star Game of Thrones' Charles Dance and Gwendoline Christie, as well as Jenna Coleman, Stephen Fry, and Cruella's Kirby Howell-Baptiste.

As for whether there's unresolved storytelling potential with Man of Steel, which could be picked up in a sequel, Goyer said: "I think so. I'm not involved in it right now. I've heard the same rumors you've heard, but I'm not plugged into it. I've stepped away almost entirely from comic book-related projects other than Sandman, which I don't really categorize as part of the normal DC universe. And I'm doing a Batman podcast. I've actually done so many adaptations of comics that I needed a break."

The next DC movie to hit the big screen is The Suicide Squad, which lands this August 5. Until then, check out how to watch DC movies in order to get up to speed with the DCEU.