As many predicted, The Batman 2 has now been officially announced by Warner Bros at tonight’s CinemaCon panel. With The Batman having pulled in over $750 million at the box office and launched on HBO Max with over 4 million views in the first week on streaming release, there was never a doubt that Warner Bros. would not be going ahead with a sequel. This will stand alongside the upcoming spin off series focusing on Colin Farrell’s Penguin, and one centered on Arkham Asylum.Warner Bros.’ Toby Emmerich announced that Matt Reeves will be back to direct and Robert Pattinson will be once again donning the Batsuit in the title role. While this is nothing to be surprised about, he also said that “the whole team” will be making the “next chapter” of the franchise. While this would suggest that many of the crew will be back to work on the sequel, it also brings a certain amount of hope that the same will be said of much of the cast. Disappointingly, no release date or any other information was revealed, other than Matt Reeves making a brief appearance to thank fans for going to see The Batman in cinemas earlier this year.
Matt Reeves brought the Dark Knight to screens this year in a way that has never been seen before on screen. Led by Robert Pattinson, The Batman stripped away the fantastical elements of previous movies as the comical humor of the 60s TV series, leaving a stark and brutal iteration of Bruce Wayne’s early years in the role of Gotham City’s greatest detective. While the change in pace didn’t sit right with everyone, the vast majority were more than on board with the distinctive and brave new direction for the DC hero.
The Batman Will Branch Out To HBO Max With Two Spin-Offs
Warner Bros. has already invested a lot in the future of The Batman, and that included the greenlighting of two spin-off shows before the movie even premiered in cinemas. Originally, one of those spin-offs was expected to be focused on the Gotham Police Department, but on the press tour around the time of The Batman’s release, Reeves revealed that the series had been changed to instead shift its focus to the inmates of Arkham Asylum. While there is nothing else known about the series, the introduction of the Joker at the end of the movie has elevated the possibilities that a show taking audiences inside Arkham could bring.
In addition to that series, Colin Farrell will also reprise his role as Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin in his own series that will likely see the would-be crime boss reaping the rewards of the Riddler’s chaos as he attempts to grab power in a broken Gotham. Farrell’s Penguin didn’t have much screen time in The Batman, but he certainly made an impression when he did appear. There has been no word on whether Penguin will have any part to play in The Batman’s sequel, and with so many other villains to bring into the mix, it is possible that the TV series will be Penguin’s main outing in the franchise.