When Matt Reeves was announced to direct what was originally meant to be the Ben Affleck-led Batman movie, The Batman, no one expected it to have any sequels. However, it quickly became apparent that Warner Bros. was heavily invested in Reeves, especially when it was rumored that he almost walked away until he was offered complete creative control over the project.
After Robert Pattinson was officially cast as Bruce Wayne in 2019, it was apparent that Warner Bros. intended this to be a trilogy and not a simple one-off. It became even more evident how invested the studio was becoming in this pocket-universe when they announced not one spin-off series but two, starring Jeffrey Wright's James Gordan and Colin Farrell's Penguin.
Pattinson has recently said that he "would love to do" more movies as the Capped Crusader and that he's already envisioned how "Bruce's psychology would grow over two more movies." So, it's interesting to hear from Pattinson that The Batman seems largely self-contained aside from a tease of a sequel at the end of the movie.
Expect Small Tease for Sequel
In an upcoming interview for the upcoming issue of Total Film, actor Robert Pattinson spoke about how hard it is to imagine The Batman being an ongoing film series:
"When I saw it the first time, even from the first shot, it does feel incredibly different, tonally, to the other movies...And it’s so strange, and kind of... It’s sad, and quite touching. It’s a really, really unusual Batman story, and it almost seems harder for me to imagine it being a series afterwards."
Pattinson specified that, aside from a "little bit at the end" hinting at a sequel, the film is largely self-contained and "feels strangely personal:"
"I mean, they always have that little bit at the end, that’s like: ‘...and coming up!’ But other than that, it feels strangely personal. I think people will be quite shocked at how different it is."
Largely Self-Contained Batman Tale?
Many fans had theorized and hoped that The Batman would lead into an adaptation of the famous comic book crossover event "No Man's Land," which was about Gotham falling into anarchy after a massive earthquake. Considering footage of a disastrous flood in the latest trailers, many believe that Paul Dano's Riddler is the cause, leading to a similar outcome to the comic event.
However, the way Robert Pattinson and producer Dylan Clarke talk about the film makes it seem largely self-contained and not building itself up for a direct follow-up. Instead, the story was likely constructed as a one-off in mind, but easily able to build sequels and spin-offs from it if Warner Bros. was satisfied with the movie.
Considering that The Batman is already expected to be a trilogy, also kicking off two spin-off series planned for HBO Max, it's likely that it will act as a fantastic foundation for what Reeves is hoping to be his own "Batverse."
Fans will get to see what this "little" sequel tease at the end of The Batman will be when the movie hits theaters on March 4, 2022.
