During a presentation at CinemaCon on Tuesday evening, Warner Bros. confirmed that The Batman is getting a sequel. Considering the critical acclaim and the $759 million it has made to date, it would have been far, far more surprising if WB opted not to turn the Matt Reeves movie into a full franchise. Reeves was actually in attendance to share the news himself. He confirmed that he will write and direct the sequel, but didn’t share any plot details. He also revealed that Robert Pattinson will be back as the Caped Crusader.
The Batman 2 is in development
According to Box Office Mojo, The Batman is the highest-grossing movie of the year by a wide margin. Coming in second is Water Gate Bridge — the sequel to a Chinese epic war film — at $626 million, while third place belongs to Uncharted, which grossed $392 million worldwide. Right now, The Batman is the undisputed king of the theater in 2022.
Therefore, there was never really any doubt that The Batman would get a sequel. It is one of the few live-action DC movies of the last decade with a score above 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. It gives Warner Bros. something to build on outside of the DCEU.
One of the reasons The Batman struck a chord with critics and fans alike was because it had a consistent tone and stayed true to the comic book. Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne may not have much in common with Christian Bale’s or Ben Affleck’s, but he fits perfectly in the dark, gritty world that Matt Reeves built for the character.
What will the sequel be about?
As noted above, Reeves didn’t reveal any specific details about The Batman 2. In fact, he also didn’t say what the movie would be called (it probably won’t be The Batman 2). All we know for sure is that Batman will be played by Robert Pattinson again.
Of course, we do have some hints as to which villain might take the place of the Riddler in the sequel. In the final act of The Batman, we see Paul Dano’s Riddler talking to someone else in Arkham Asylum. Based on the mysterious man’s gruesome appearance and chilling laugh, it was clear right away that it was the Joker.
Also, shortly after The Batman hit theaters, Warner Bros. shared a deleted scene on YouTube in which Batman has an extended conversation with Barry Keoghan’s Joker. All of this seems to be setting up for a showdown in a future film.
Upcoming DC movies release schedule
It will be at least another year and a half or so before we see a sequel to The Batman, but DC has plenty of other projects in the works for 2022 and 2023:
- DC League of Super-Pets | July 29th, 2022
- Black Adam | October 21st, 2022
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods | December 16th, 2022
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | March 17th, 2023
- The Flash | June 23rd, 2023
The Batman is streaming now on HBO Max.
More HBO Max coverage: For more HBO Max news, check out our coverage of the latest new HBO Max movies and series to watch.
