With reports of Matt Reeves' The Batman 2 coming to light, the director teased a deep connection between the sequel and HBO Max's The Penguin series.
Reeves is nearly a year post the resounding success of his first DC epic The Batman and has begun work on rounding out his take on the Caped Crusader's universe.
Part of this effort is the inevitable sequel film, and a streaming series focusing on Colin Farrell's Penguin. Farrell has called what he has seen of the series "a joy," noting how the show starts "about a week after The Batman ends."
Now, Reeves himself has chimed in, revealing how closely connected his various Batman projects are.
Penguin's Batman 2 Connection
The Batman director Matt Reeves revealed that The Batman 2 will be set up in the HBO Max Penguin series.
Speaking with Collider, Reeves remarked that the super-powered sequel "will lead into the sequel:"
“There's actually a whole little fabric of things we're wanting to do, the way we're doing with [the] Penguin and how that comes back into how that will lead into the sequel, and what that sequel is going to be.”
This is all in an effort to expand on the filmmaker's Gotham City vision, crafting an entire universe. However, with all this expansion Reeves has made it clear that Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne/Batman will "be the emotional center of the story:"
“To me, the thing that I really feel is that I also believe that Rob [Pattinson] is so special in the role. My goal has always been to do these point-of-view stories that allow the character to always be the emotional center of the story. Because a lot of times what happens is, after you do the first one, then suddenly other Rogues Gallery characters come in, and they kind of take over, and then Batman takes a backseat sort of character-wise, or emotionally.”
What to Expect in The Batman 2
With the growth of the Matt Reeves Bat-verse it is exciting to see just how intrinsic these HBO Max series will be into the whole equation.
Of course, The Penguin was going to be influenced by Reeves' first bat-based blockbuster, but to hear that the eventual The Batman 2 will pick up the story right at The Penguin could come as a surprise to some.
The Batman is turning into more than just a film franchise. It's almost like a little mini cinematic universe akin to something like the MCU.
With The Penguin set to introduce some new characters to The Batman formula like Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, it will be fascinating to see how some of the new personalities play into the Robert Pattison-led sequel film.
No official release timing for The Batman 2 has been listed, but it has been written that Reeves and the rest of the creative team are "deep in it" on the sequel.
