One of the stars of The Batman 2 just confirmed its surprising timeline placement in Matt Reeves' Elseworlds universe. The sequel to the Robert Pattinson-led The Batman has been in the works for several years at this point. In fact, over half a decade will have passed since the first movie by the time Part 2 comes to theaters. Despite this, the project is still moving forward, with production set to get started sometime next year.
As part of a new interview, Colin Farrell (the actor behind The Batman's Penguin) pulled the curtain back on where The Batman 2 takes place in the franchise timeline. Speaking with Comicbook.com, Farrell lets slip that the upcoming sequel will kick off just "a few weeks after" the end of the hit DC HBO series The Penguin:
"It conveniently worked that the death at the end of The Batman and the devastation within Gotham opened up a power vacuum that then Oz could try and capitalize on. That was perfect for the parallel eight hours that we had. And then ['The Batman Part II'] will pick up, whatever, a few weeks after the show ended. But I kind of bet against, but not by a wide mark."
Farrell's The Penguin series notably picked up just one week after the events of The Batman (as confirmed by The Wrap), meaning The Batman 2 will likely take place within a month of the end of the first film.
This will likely come as a surprise to fans, as they would have assumed Reeves and the Batman creative team would have wanted more time to pass between the end of the first movie and the beginning of the second, especially since it has been nearly half a decade since The Batman was released in theaters.
Several months or a year between movies was the working assumption among fans, as it would have allowed for Gotham City and Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader to have progressed/changed in the time since the first film. However, it appears that this will not happen.
Instead, The Batman 2's timeline placement means that Gotham City will likely still be recovering from Riddler's rampage through the city in the first movie, and a character like Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman will still be absent (which was previously teased by several industry experts).
The Batman 2 is set to swoop into theaters on October 1, 2027. Not much is known about the film other than that Robert Pattinson will be back in the cape and cowl, along with names like Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, and Andy Serkis, all set to return. No plot specifics have been given, but the Matt Reeves-directed sequel is said to feature a threat that will hit close to home for franchise hero Bruce Wayne.
The Batman 2's Timeline Placement Could Make for A Unique DC Adventure
Yes, The Batman 2's timeline placement may come as a shock to some fans, but it could also set up one of the most unique Batman adventures ever put to screen.
If the upcoming bat-based sequel takes place "a few weeks" after the end of HBO's The Penguin, then it is likely that fans will get a fully winter-set Batman movie in The Batman 2.
According to the franchise's official timeline, The Penguin ended, in-universe, on December 4, 2022. If The Batman 2 starts just a matter of weeks after that, there is a real chance it will tell its story over the holiday season and into the New Year.
That means audiences may get snow-covered streets in Gotham City for the first time in a live-action Batman movie since 1992's Batman Returns. This could be a layer of cool isolation to Robert Pattinson's Batman story, with his external environment reflecting the feelings he has been harboring within since taking on his crime-fighting alter ego.
It could also play into the movie's potential villain. What better big bad to feature in a snow-kissed Batman adventure than someone like Mr. Freeze, potentially adapting the beloved 'Heart of Ice' storyline from Batman: The Animated Series?
Having winter descend on Gotham City for the next Reeves movie might be exactly what the franchise needs, offering fans a Batman adventure unlike anything they have seen before.
