With The Batman almost upon us, chatter is already starting to turn towards future instalments in this rebooted Dark Knight universe, with both director Matt Reeves and star Robert Pattinson discussing the prospect of the inevitable sequel(s) during the film’s press tour this past week.
As we already know, plans are already afoot to expand the world of The Batman on HBO Max, with two spinoff series in development – one following the Gotham City Police Department and the other revolving around Colin Farrell’s Penguin – and now Reeves has opened up about launching an entire ‘Batverse’ around this first film.
“What I really wanted this movie to do is create a Batverse,” the filmmaker tells Entertainment Weekly. “You don’t do a story and go, ‘This is Chapter 1’ because you might not get to do Chapter 2. So, the story had to stand on its own. But the thing about it is that the Bat world is so rich with character that as you’re starting to come to an end, you can already start thinking about the next thing. Because the idea, of course, is that Gotham’s story never ends.”
Reeves then went on to address The Penguin show, which he’s executive producing alongside Farrell and writer Lauren LeFranc (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), teasing that it is “this kind of ‘American dream in Gotham’ sort of story, almost like Scarface; the rise of this character who we all know will achieve mythic status. He is underestimated and he’s like a time bomb.”
Meanwhile, during another press event for the film (via CBR), Reeves revealed that he’s “talked to the HBO Max folks” when asked about the prospect of further expanding the ‘Batverse’ and the possibility of Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle’s getting her own spinoff – although it sounds like the plan may be to continue Catwoman’s story alongside that of Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight.
“What we’re really trying to do is to launch this world,” said Reeves. “If the world embraces this, we have a lot of ideas for things we want to do, and for sure we want Selena to continue. [Selina and Bruce’s] relationship and what they are to each other… to me, that’s the heart of the movie, is the push-pull between the two of them and the way that she’s going to evolve, and where all of that will go. We’re talking about a lot of things, but of course, all of it depends on… we’re about to release this movie, and it really comes down to how people receive it.”
SEE ALSO: Listen to Michael Giacchino’s Catwoman theme from The Batman
Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies—Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright)—amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.
When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.
The Batman sees Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse) donning the cape and cowl as Bruce Wayne/Batman alongside Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Paul Dano (Escape at Dannemora) as Edward Nashton/The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis (War for the Planet of the Apes) as Alfred Pennyworth, John Turturro (The Big Lebowski) as Carmine Falcone, Alex Ferns (Chernobyl) as Commissioner Pete Savage, Con O’Neill (Ordinary Lies) as Chief Mackenzie Bock, Peter Sarsgaard (The Killing) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson and Jayme Lawson (Farewell Amor) as Bella Real.
The Batman is set for release on March 4th.
