6 Wild THE BATMAN Story Predictions You Can Take To The Bank
The Batman is finally beginning to take shape, so we thought now would be a perfect time to sift through all the rumours and theories out there to come up with six big predictions for the movie...
For a while there, things weren't looking good for The Batman. However, in the past 24 hours, the movie has gained a director and it's been confirmed that Ben Affleck will be reprising the role of the Caped Crusader following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Is it possible that the highly anticipated release will now meet that rumoured 2018 slot?
We'll have to wait and see, but one thing we can safely say is that the list of upcoming superhero movies just got a whole lot more exciting now that we know the Dark Knight is among them.
Beyond a handful of casting decisions and a few interesting rumours, we don't really know what to expect from The Batman, but I've still managed to come up with a pretty wild list of predictions for what we should expect from the movie! With some, there's evidence that these could happen, and while others are pretty outlandish, I think you'll still enjoy them!
So, from major plot twists to unexpected debuts, here's how I think The Batman is going to play out...
6. The Fate Of Jason Todd Is Revealed
While it could be dismissed as just a very cool Easter Egg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Batman not revealing the story behind Jason Todd's defaced costume would be downright baffling. It's unlikely to be touched on in Justice League, so the death of Robin playing a key role here would make perfect sense for a number of reasons. Perhaps we'll see Batman tempted to take on a new sidekick but reluctant due to the events of the past, or even more interestingly, we may even be treated to the return of Jason as the Red Hood.
Something like that would make for a great third act reveal even if it only sets up the sequel rather than gives him a lead role. If nothing else, I fully expect some flashbacks featuring the Dark Knight's greatest failure and that would obviously be the perfect place to have Jared Leto's Joker return, setting up a storyline for him and the Red Hood down the line once Deathstroke is dealt with (assuming he's the lead villain, though of that I'm not convinced as you'll learn a little later in this post).
5. Nightwing Will Make An Appearance
A day ago, I may have been reluctant to place this here, but the news of an upcoming live-action Nightwing movie from the director of The LEGO Batman Movie pretty much seals the deal. Nightwing will show up in some form in The Batman in order to set up his solo outing, and it should be very interesting to see what the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson is. Personally, I have a feeling it won't be good, with Nightwing likely alienated from his mentor thanks to the brutal methods we saw him using for a time in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The two briefly coming to blows or even reluctantly teaming up would be fun to see, while we could even see Dick come to save the day at the request of Alfred when Batman finds himself overwhelmed by the threat of Deathstroke and this movie's other villains (more on those later). However it plays out, expect Nightwing to make a pretty significant impact, especially as whoever ends up playing him could be the next Batman assuming Affleck does decided to move on from the role and Warner Bros. follows the comic books.
4. Catwoman Is Going To Be The Main Love Interest
Looking over previous Batman movies, it's hard to find a love interest from the comic books who hasn't already made their big screen debut. One thing this release should avoid is going down the route of Bruce Wayne romancing someone while simultaneously trying to hide his activities as the Dark Knight as that's a plot point which has been done to death in every format imaginable at this point. So, who better than Catwoman? Ideally, an actress in her 30s/40s will be cast as that would open the door to these two having a lot of history.
That gives Matt Reeves the opportunity to delve into the complexity of both that and why the two vigilantes can probably never be together as Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle no matter how much they both might want that to happen. We've seen a lot of very interesting interpretations of Catwoman over the years (some good, many bad), but a really comic book accurate take would be a real treat and opens the door to a lot of potentially very cool moments such as the two hooking up on a rooftop in true comic book style. If not Catwoman, I could actually see Black Canary subbing in for her...
3. Lex Luthor Is The Real Mastermind
Storyboards for Justice League point to Lex Luthor hiring Deathstroke at some point in the movie, possibly to get some revenge on Batman for placing him in Arkham Asylum. It's possible of course that Slade Wilson is simply hired to break the villain out (which leads to the Caped Crusader hunting him down in The Batman to get revenge for the chaos Luthor caused alongside Steppenwolf), but I wouldn't be remotely surprised to see Jesse Eisenberg make his presence felt here even if it's just a cameo of some sort.
It may seem backwards to have this iconic Superman villain be a big bad of sorts here when he should really be squaring off with the Man of Steel, but the fact is that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice made him every bit of a foil to Bruce Wayne as well as Clark Kent. Here's a really crazy theory for you; what if Batman confronts Lex at the end of the movie and Superman then makes a surprise appearance to take Luthor down and back to a prison in Metropolis? That's something which could nicely set the stage for them to once again face off in that long rumoured Man of Steel follow-up!
2. Deathstroke Won't Be The Only Batman Villain Who Appears
Deathstroke is a pretty cool bad guy and all, but there's no way that's the only member of Batman's rogues gallery we'll see here. While I'm sure we're going to get lots of really impressive fight scenes between the two, not having other iconic villains make their respective presences felt would be a real missed opportunity. Whether we see some of them in Arkham Asylum or the Dark Knight takes down a character like Two-Face during a hostage situation or something similar at the beginning of the movie, Matt Reeves should absolutely put the focus on some familiar faces from this world.
The Batman needs to establish that Gotham City is plagued by costumed villains, something Zack Snyder understandably didn't have much time to delve into in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. So, who should appear? Well, while I think we'll definitely see The Joker, I can easily imagine some scenes with The Penguin, Clayface, and possibly even The Riddler as Warner Bros. dives deep into the world of this hero with an eye to setting up his future on the big screen.
1. A Big Justice League Reveal
The timeline of the DC Films Universe isn't playing out how any of us expected with The Flash delayed, new movies like Black Adam and Nightwing added to the slate, and the two-part Justice League movie now a standalone picture until Warner Bros. sees how that performs critically and financially this November. Despite that latter point, I'm still expecting The Batman to reference the superhero team in a fairly significant manner, especially as Bruce Wayne funds the team and Alfred also looks set to spend a fair bit of time with them. Hell, even Commissioner Gordon will meet the group!
There has to be a good reason Bruce decides against calling his new friends for help, and I'm going to say it boils down to them not trusting him. With that in mind, don't be remotely surprised to see the hero reveal that he's accumulated some weapons which can be used to take down his new teammates at any time. That was one of the coolest surprises to come out of The New 52, and could very well play a role in setting up the events of the eventual Justice League sequel. Batman versus the team, anyone?
Do you guys think any of these predictions will come true? What are yours? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section.