Fans of filmmaker Matt Reeves‘ The Batman may already be excited to see what’s next in this new universe he’s created. While Warner Bros. has yet to grant The Batman 2 the green light, considering the film’s box office success, it appears all but certain. In addition to receiving positive reviews, The Batman earned $128.5 million in its first weekend at the box office, providing the studio with the kind of response that would almost surely support a sequel.
In a new interview with The Cyber Nerds, Reeves discussed his current intentions for The Batverse. Reeves reveals that the aim for The Batman 2 was to make it a stand-alone experience because there was no promise they’d get to tell more of their narrative in a sequel. With the excellent reception the film has received from fans, the filmmaker is hoping to tell more stories with Batman.
“Batman’s story never ends. It’s not as if the crime is ever going to end, or corruption is ever going to end in Gotham City. It was important that this story, even though I wanted to end in a complete sort of – beginning, middle, end – so that you had the experience, it had to end in a way that you knew it went on because even if I wasn’t going to make another movie, Batman’s story continues. He is doomed and compelled to continue to go on this journey to become this iconic hero. And what’s exciting is that if the audience embraces this movie, and it feels hopeful like they will, because Rob is amazing, then we’ll be able to tell more of those stories.”
While the sequel to Batman is awaiting approval, there will be offshoot programs airing on HBO Max. In one spinoff series, Colin Farrell will reprise his role as Penguin. Reeves teased some new information about the spinoff, revealing how it will follow Oswald Cobblepot’s development from a little thief to a crime lord.
He also mentioned that Penguin is one of the characters for whom they are putting on performance since Colin is so fantastic in the movie and we all know he’ll become the kingpin. However, we also know that this isn’t the final form of the character. As a result, the journey he takes to become that figure is a strong mythological tale in and of itself. It’s about, sort of like his American dream Gotham narrative, about the point where he’s undervalued. Matt Reeves emphasizes people don’t understand that Colin has the capacity to become the kingpin, but he does.
In other news, The Batverse will have a new spinoff at HBO Max, this time centered on Arkham Asylum. This concept comes from another spinoff that was previously reported about and would follow the officers of the Gotham Police Department, according to Reeves. The focus of that show has switched to the supervillains incarcerated in the maximum-security prison.
“That story has kind of evolved. We’re now moving into exactly what would happen in the world of Arkham, as it relates coming off of our movie, and some of the characters. It’s like a horror movie or like a haunted house that is Arkham, the idea of – the way that Gotham is a character in the movie – I really want Arkham to exist as a character so that you go into this environment and encounter these characters in a way that feels really fresh. And so in our work on Gotham, that story started to evolve, and it started feeling like, ‘Wait, we should really lean into this.'”
The Batman is presently in theaters all around the world.
