‘The Batman 2’ Will Avoid Classic Superhero Sequel Mistake

There are only a handful of great Batman movies. While everyone can agree that Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman is beautiful, almost no one can agree or Batman Returns (1992) or Batman Forever (1995) are secret classics or noble failures. And even when it comes to beloved Batman continue — like the one from 2008 The dark knight —There’s one tendency that many, many Bat-movies tend to have: Many Batman movies aren’t about Batman, largely because there’s often a huge emphasis on the Caped Crusader taking on some over-the-top villain.

Speaking with Sound effects about his plans for The Batman 2Matt Reeves has revealed a somewhat controversial stance on Bat-sequels, seemingly indicating that his vision will be very different from what came before it.

The Batman 2 will not be The dark knight

While it’s safe to say that Christopher Nolan The dark knight is one of the best superhero movies of all time, it might be a little bit accurate to consider this movie more of a Joker movie than a Batman movie. Heath Ledger’s Joker steals the show here, and by the end of the movie he’s joined by another villain, Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two-Face.

If this formula sounds familiar, it should. An overwhelming number of Batman films are filled with villains, from the 1966 classic starring Adam West (playing The Riddler, the Penguin, Catwoman, And the Joker), to Batman Returns (Penguin and Catwoman) to Batman Forever (Two-Face and the Riddler), and of course, Batman and Robin (Bane, Poison Ivy, and Mister Freeze.) Essentially, Reeves is aware of this historical trend and is very fixated on avoiding it with his sequel to The Batman.

“A lot of times what happens is you introduce Batman in the first movie and then the next movie is the Riddler movie or the Joker movie and it’s all about the rogues gallery,” he said. Sound effects.“I wanted to find a way to keep Batman as a central storyline in the films.”

To this point, Reeves also noted that extremely wacky or almost surreal villains like Gentleman Ghost probably won’t have a place in the Bat-universe he’s created. “Gentleman Ghost probably pushed it a little too far to find a way to do that,” he said. “But there’s a fun way to think about how we would take characters who maybe veer a little bit into the fantastical and find a way to make sense of that.”

A Batman sequel about Batman

One of the most interesting things about 2022 The Batman was the last minute character change of the titular character himself. When Robert Pattison’s Bruce Wayne realizes that the gang of terrorists is inspired by it While he is inspired by the Riddler, he realizes that being someone who beats people up or makes them angry isn’t exactly great for Gotham or humanity.

Beautiful and tender is the end of The Batman finds Bruce focusing more on the role of protector than vigilante, a role that says more about the character’s journey than most other Batman films, including the good ones. In a way, it seems that in the making The Batman 2, Reeves stays true to what he started in the first film: he focuses on who Batman is and his relationship with Gotham City.

Reeves points out that he wants “these stories to be a meditation on the way Gotham is the way it is.” The Batman 2the story will “delve deeply into the epic tale of deeper corruption,” but without losing Bruce Wayne/Batman to the machinations of all his antagonists. At the end of the day (or dark night), this will still be a Bats movie. As Reeve promises, “It expands in a way that shows you aspects of the character that you never got to see.”

The Batman 2 will hit theaters on October 2, 2026.