DC Studios' next movie, Batman: Knightfall - Part One, is already receiving much better reviews than Supergirl, especially in areas that the DCU movie suffered. The DCU suffered its first major blow this summer as Supergirl sped into theaters in June to middling reviews and box office disaster, standing to lose over $100 million after grossing just $124.85 million worldwide. After the Supergirl disaster, James Gunn's flagship universe won't release a new movie until Clayface hits theaters in October. But before then, DC Studios is preparing to drop Batman: Knightfall - Part 1, the first act in a direct-to-digital animated trilogy based on the 1993-94 comic storyline that pits the Dark Knight against Bane.
Fans won't be able to pick up Batman: Knightfall - Part 1 until August 25 digitally and September 8 physically, but the lucky attendees of France's Annecy Festival caught an early screening of the upcoming DC flick. A report from Variety revealed that DC Studios' next movie premiered to "thunderous applause" from the Annecy crowd, signaling a much-needed win for the blue brand after Supergirl.
Knightfall's opening arc notably received specific praise from critics in areas that Supergirl was most heavily criticized. For one, Annecy attendees raved about Better Call Saul and Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Michael Mando's portrayal of the mountainous brute Bane, whose villainy the crux of Knightfall.
Nexus Point News declared that Mando "completely steals the show with his performance" as Bane, the man who broke the Bat. The outlet wasn't the only one to gush over Knightfall's venom-infused baddie, as IGN called Mando's "the most faithful take" on Bane, who appeared before in Batman & Robin and The Dark Knight Rises, the latter of which was played by A-lister Tom Hardy.
Beyond Krem's blandness, many felt that Supergirl's action lacked much of a punch and that the choreography was passable, especially in the final battle with the controversial "The Middle" needledrop. By contrast, The Wrap noted that Knightfall director Jeff Wamester "stages the action gamely, with a strong sense of choreography and spatial clarity."
The animated Batman adaptation "delivers brutal, visceral, fast-paced and gruesome action," according to Nexus Point News. Unlike the PG-13-rated Supergirl, Knightfall is taking on an R rating to lean into the story's brutality.
Warner Bros. Animation Vice President Peter Girardi revealed at Annecy that Knightfall is "a story that we’ve held on to for many years because we really wanted to get it right." Fortunately, Knightfall - Part 1 seems to have succeeded in adapting its behmoth source material, even with a limiting 80-minute runtime.
IGN's overwhelming postive review (which concluded with a 9/10 score) noted that Knightfall "trims a great deal of fat from the original crossover" in order to "keep the focus squarely on" what truly matters in the story:
"Not unlike Denny O’Neil’s excellent Knightfall novelization from the ‘90s, Part 1 trims a great deal of fat from the original crossover, jettisoning those characters and storylines that aren’t absolutely essential to the bigger picture. The end result keeps the focus squarely on Batman himself, his small circle of allies, and Bane."
DC Studios strayed from the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic by omitting major sidequests, reinventing Krem of the Yellow Hills, and adding Jason Momoa's Lobo into the narrative. But its biggest crime to Tom King's original tale was altering Supergirl's ending in a way that lost Woman of Tomorrow's true meaning.
On a similar front, much of the general audience never really connected with Ruthye, Supergirl's revenge-driven sidekick, and were unwhelmed by her role, especially compared to the comics, despite praise for actress Eva Ridley.
When it comes to Knightfall, Batman, played by Inhuman actor Anson Mount, is paired with Robin, who in this case is Tim Drake, declared to be a "the scene stealer of the movie" by Variety. But the Boy of Wonder isn't the only major side character in the animated epic, as Jean Paul-Valley, aka Azrael, enters the fray as the star of a "gruesome scene" that opens Knightfall.
But that's not to say that it was all sunshine and rainbows for Batman: Knightfall - Part One, as DiscussingFilm concluded that it was "a bit of a mixed bag" and had a number of criticisms to offer in its review. Ultimately, the movie news giant called the summer home release a "sluggish start" to the trilogy, saying that this "introduction isn’t compelling enough."
The Batman: Knightfall saga may not be the only win looming for DC Studios, as HBO’s Lanterns has received raving first reactions, despite backlash toward its early teasers. Many have warmed up to the DCU series since its latest trailer, which finally unveiled some of its more sci-fi, classic Green Lantern moments.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment still hasn't confirmed when audiences will enjoy Knightfall's latter two parts, based on Knightsquest and KnightsEnd, in which Jean Paul-Valley replaces Bruce Wayne under Batman's cowl.
If the Dark Knight's new trilogy follows a similar release pattern to DC's last home release saga, Crisis on Infinite Earths, each part would drop three months apart, placing Knightsquest in late fall/early winter and KnightsEnd in early 2027.
