Taking a slight diversion from the DC Extended Universe, Warner Bros. kicked off its round of superhero movies in 2022 with Matt Reeves' The Batman, which became a major success. Robert Pattinson became the third actor behind Bruce Wayne in the 21st century after Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, and he led the way in another beloved DC adventure.
The Batman earned rave reviews online, still sitting at an 85% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it's earned more than $750 million at the global box office. The film has already become the origin of a spin-off series centered on Colin Farrell's Penguin on top of excellent performances by Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle and Paul Dano as the Riddler.
All things considered, Matt Reeves' 175-minute epic became a hit on every level, making it almost inevitable that Warner Bros. would consider coming back to this world for a second movie.
Now, thanks to news from CinemaCon 2022, those plans are now officially on the studio's books.
The Batman Continuing Into a Sequel
Via Variety, Warner Bros confirmed at CienemaCon 2022 that there are plans for a sequel to Matt Reeves' The Batman, which was released in March 2022.
The studio announced that Reeves would return to direct the sequel, and he will also serve as the writer. Robert Pattinson will return to play Bruce Wayne, although no other cast or crew were confirmed.
Reeves also offered a message, via The Hollywood Reporter, to his cast and crew thanking them for the first movie's success:
“The success of The Batman was a true team effort. We could not have gotten to this place without…the theatrical experience...As a lifelong fan of the movies, I treasure what you do."
The outlet also shared a quote from Warner Bros. movie chief Toby Emmerich, who confirmed that Reeves, Pattinson, "and the entire team" will be back, indicating that the majority of The Batman's producing crew and creative team will be returning for the Gotham sequel :
“Matt took one of our most iconic and beloved superheroes and delivered a fresh. Matt Reeves, Rob Pattinson and the entire team will be taking audiences back to Gotham with The Batman 2.”
Reeves Returns to The Batman 2
After so much success this year on The Batman, there was almost no doubt that a sequel was firmly on the table for Warner Bros. Director Matt Reeves already hinted a couple of months ago that there were internal discussions about what the next story could entail, and now, those plans will be implemented in the foreseeable future.
The first film ended with Paul Dano's Riddler in Arkham Asylum alongside Barry Keoghan's Joker, clearly setting them up to make their presence felt throughout Gotham as it tries to recover from the citywide flooding. Pattinson also teased the idea of a story featuring the Court of Owls as the primary antagonist, once again indicating that there are plenty of thoughts already flowing.
Although there is plenty of time left before The Batman 2 goes further into development, seeing the film confirmed is good enough for most fans, especially with the first film only having debuted recently. Producers of the first film are hoping to get that follow-up outing out to fans within the next five years, but with the news already confirmed, five years could be on the longer end of the spectrum for that wait.
The Batman is now streaming on HBO Max.
