Where could Matt Reeves take his next Batman movie? By now, you’ve probably seen The Batman, and if you haven’t, what are you playing at? Seriously get to the cinema and watch it; it’s brilliant, then come back and continue this article. That way, you won’t inadvertently spoil yourself.
Anyway, we’ve seen Batman (Robert Pattinson) investigate Gotham’s rotten heart in his quest to take down The Riddler (Paul Dano), so the question now is ‘what’s next?’ Reeves and Pattinson have been very upfront in their intention to make a sequel, and The Batman introduces several plot beats that could be followed up in a sequel.
So we’ve been through our comic book collection and had a good hard think about which classic Batman stories Reeves and Pattinson could bring to the big screen next. We’ve everything from old classic tales (featuring at least one untimely death) to modern masterpieces. So here are the four stories we might see in The Batman 2.
What stories might Matt Reeves adapt in The Batman 2?
- The Court of Owls
- Batman: Venom
- Death in the Family
- Batman RIP
The Court of Owls
The Court of Owls sees Batman investigate the titular Court; a secret society made up of Gotham’s oldest and wealthiest families. This group of masked menaces have secretly ruled over Gotham for centuries, manipulating the city using their wealth and powerful assassins known as Talons to bolster their political influence.
Considered one of the best modern Dark Knight stories, The Batman contains more than a few winks and nods to The Court of Owls.
We can see Reeves deciding to further explore those ideas in a proper adaptation of the classic story.
Robert Pattinson himself has recently told Vanity Fair he thinks (although can’t confirm) that the Court may appear in a future Batman movie.
Batman: Venom
We’ve written at length about the mysterious drug Batman takes at the end of the film. It’s possible that it was just adrenaline, but it could just as easily be Venom. Venom is a fictional drug that exists in the DC Comics Universe and gives the user super strength. Sounds great, right? Well, it’s also highly addictive and makes its users unstable.
In the storyline Batman: Venom, the Caped Crusader starts using the drug to make himself a more effective crimefighter. Unfortunately, the more he takes, the more violent he becomes, pushing away even his devoted servant Alfred. In the end, Batman has to go cold-turkey for a month in the Bat Cave to ween himself off the drug.
Adrenaline addict: Best action movies
It’s a dark storyline, and one that we think would really suit Pattinson’s version of Batman. Plus, we know that Reeves based his interpretation of Batman on rock-and-roll legend Kurt Cobain. What could be more rock-and-roll than battling drug addiction? Well, besides playing musical instruments?
Death in the Family
Death in the Family is one of the most infamous Batman stories of all time. This is the storyline that saw poor Jason Todd, Batman’s second Robin, get his head bashed in by a crowbar-wielding Joker and then blown up. Shockingly, for a comic book character, he didn’t survive the attack and Batman was left to mourn his fallen ward.
To be honest, this storyline is so dark, and there are so many missing elements (like Robin for one) that it’d be difficult to pull off, even for a director as talented as Reeves. That said, Pattinson has expressed an interest in the story.
“I love Death in the Family and stuff. I think it would be so cool,” he told ComicBook.com. “Also, people are so scared of it, that it’s kind of exciting. I think it would be a really fun addition.”
Batman RIP
Okay, it might be a bit weird to kill off your hero in his second movie but hear us out. There are a lot of theories going around as to who was in the cell next to The Riddler.
A lot of people think they know who it is, but it’s never confirmed, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Reeves wasn’t pulling a little joke on expectant fans. What if the person in Arkham is, in fact, Doctor Simon Hurt, the man who very nearly drove the Dark Knight to his doom.
Deadly doctor: Best horror movies
Hurt, a talented psychologist (or potentially a demon, it’s hard to say), used his mastery of the mind to try and break Batman’s mind, body, and soul.
He failed, of course, because he’s Batman, but Hurt came closer than most Batman villains. What evidence have we got that Batman RIP may be in Reeves’ mind? Well, Hurt bears more than a passing resemblance to Riddler’s new friend, and he’s not afraid of doing an evil laugh if the moment calls for it.
The Batman is in cinemas now.