Talking to David Goyer, screenwriter for Man of Steel:
When pushed on the possibility of the Justice League movie following on directly from Man of Steel he elaborated,
It would be disingenuous to say Warner Bros doesn’t hope that this would be the starting point for a shared universe. And Zack has said that Bruce Wayne exists in this universe. It would be a different Bruce Wayne from Chris’ [Nolan] Dark Knight trilogy, and it would be disingenuous to say that Zack and I haven’t had various conversations on set, around ‘what if’ and ‘moving forward’.
That having been said, it’s all going to depend on the next few weeks. Warner Bros has hopes that there will be more Man Of Steel films, and that this will be the beginning of a shared universe. We could meet Batman, or Wonder Woman, or the Justice League in these movies. But they all hinge on box office reception.
If that happens, I would be happy, and nervous, to dive in.
Okay, despite the fact that we spent years in the Nolanverse batman, getting to know him, despite the build of of that world and character, despite the fact that Nolan is here producing, despite the fact that we have the perfect set up for Batman to continue from The Dark Knight trilogy, we’re just going to blow all that away. I see.
Look, I understand that The Dark Knight trilogy was conceived as a stand alone thing, but there’s nothing saying that it has to be except perhaps pride. I’m sick of the unnecessary reboots. There’s no reason why Bruce Wayne from the already established universe couldn’t come be part of this, or John (Robin) Blake couldn’t take up the mantle of Batman, which is one of the possibilities of the end of The Dark Knight Rises, and be a part of this universe. I just don’t get it, and this whole reboot thing is not appealing to me at all.