10 Big Predictions For The Batman Sequels | Screen Rant
Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Batman.
The Batman arrived in theaters and did two things that could turn things around for the Caped Crusader. First, it dominated the box office with the second biggest opening since the start of 2020, proving fans were ready for something other than the DCEU version of Batman. Second, it was a critical success, certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 89% audience score.
The box office and critical success mean that The Batman will likely not be a one-shot Warner Bros. DC movie, and fans should expect to see much more from this version of Batman and Gotham City. There are already two HBO Max shows coming as spin-offs to The Batman, and fans should expect more movies in this world as well.
The one guaranteed follow-up to The Batman is Gotham PD, and it is coming to HBO Max this year. The series already indicated that it will be about Jim Gordon and his attempt at cleaning up the Gotham police force, which is the "anatomy of corruption."
Initially, the show was not a sequel, but a prequel, and showed Gordon as a new cop on the force, trying to operate within a corrupt police department. This might be tough, as Gordon showed in The Batman that he had no idea the force was corrupt. If that is true, he will likely be dealing with lower-level corruption, not knowing how deep it runs, similar to his role in Gotham on Fox.
With Penguin and Joker both in Arkham State Hospital, there is a good chance that a future Batman movie or TV show could deal with that institution. Matt Reeves has said that the Gotham PD HBO Max series will possibly be the same as the rumored Arkham Asylum HBO Max series.
That could be how the new world of The Batman could introduce its version of Joker since he was already incarcerated. With that said, Riddler is now in Gotham, and the idea of an escape, or a movie version of the Arkham Asylum video game with Batman, could send both villains back to the streets.
With Riddler in Arkham, fans got a chance to at least hear Joker talking in The Batman. The two also indicated that they will become fast friends because, as Joker's riddle indicated, nothing is stronger than a friend to someone without many friends.
This is huge because Riddler wanted Batman's respect, and when he did not get it, he was distraught and all alone again. If Joker is anything, he is manipulative, and this could put the two villains together in a sequel to come after Batman together, which is a supervillain team-up that actually has a reason to exist.
While Gotham PD was the only confirmed HBO Max series based in the world of The Batman, it looks like there is a second one that will follow the events of the movie. Rumors indicate Colin Farrell will bring his Penguin to HBO Max for his own series.
With Falcone dead, there is a huge opening at the top of the Gotham City crime scene, and Penguin is the person already in a position to fill that role. This could be the closest Penguin comes in a movie to matching his role in the comics, and Farrell even hinted that the HBO Max series could be rated TV-MA as he takes over as the new crime lord.
There is no word on what storylines Warner Bros. could explore in future Batman sequels. Outside of the HBO Max shows, Robert Pattinson's Batman will almost certainly be back in a movie after the success of The Batman.
The movie ended with Riddler destroying much of the city. Batman even said that the city was now under martial law as they tried to get things fixed. This could lead to a No Man's Land scenario, even though that was also done in The Dark Knight Rises and Gotham. Regardless, Batman trying to help people while the city is at its lowest point could make for a compelling story.
The only time Batman had a Robin in the modern era in a live-action film was in Joel Schumacher's movies, and that was not something that worked out well. Robert Pattinson has said he would not mind having a Robin, but only on one condition.
In an interview, Pattinson said that he had one condition for having a Robin in a sequel to his movie. He wants Robin to be 13, and he mentioned Death in the Family as the storyline he would want to explore. Bringing in Jason Todd instead of Dick Grayson and then killing him would be a massive move for the franchise.
If The Batman wants to keep fans excited and bring them back in mass for sequels, the movie franchise should remain fresh and offer new ideas. One thing that has never been shown in a movie is the Court of Owls, and the entire premise of The Batman could lead to this story.
The Court of Owls is an organization that has existed for well over a century, with the most powerful families in Gotham City controlling everything from behind the scenes. No one, not even Batman and his rogues' gallery, knew about them. This could up the stakes and give Batman an almost unbeatable foe, even more so than the corrupt law enforcement in The Batman.
Catwoman was one of Batman's greatest movie villains when she appeared in Batman Returns. Warner Bros. tried to capitalize on her popularity with her own solo movie in 2004, but that was a box office flop and ended up as one of DC's most hated comic book movies.
It might be time for Catwoman to get a second chance, and with Zoë Kravitz receiving critical acclaim for her portrayal of Selina Kyle, she could headline her own movie or HBO Max series as she has adventures away from Batman in Bludhaven after leaving Gotham City.
Bludhaven could also present DC with a chance to introduce another major Batman character into the world. If Warner Bros. goes with Pattinson's idea of only bringing in a 13-year-old Robin and then taking him out in Death in the Family, it should not be Dick Grayson.
If Selina is in Bludhaven. she would likely come into conflict with the police there, and that could bring Dick, one of the best characters to take up the mantle of Robin in the comics, into the world as a police officer, similar to how Christopher Nolan did it in The Dark Knight Rises. This could also show Dick taking on the role of Nightwing, bypassing his time as Robin completely.
The one narrative device that carried The Batman from the start to the final explosive conclusion, and one of the ways it is a great Batman movie, was Bruce Wayne's realization that he was doing things the wrong way. At the start of the movie, Batman revealed that he tried to stop crime through fear. He was vengeance.
However, in the final battle, the armed militia that attacked Gotham used his own line, saying they were vengeance, and even Riddler gained inspiration from Batman, thinking they were the same. In the end, Batman reached out and helped people, saving them. He realized that striking fear into villains did not stop them and only made the public scared of him. The Batman sequels need to show that he has changed and is a hero now, not a weapon of vengeance.