The Batman Part II is scheduled to release in October of 2026, nearly four years after the release of the first movie. Robert Pattinson will suit up as the Caped Crusader to patrol Gotham at least once more afterwards with The Batman Part III.
The Batman Part II will pick up right where The Penguin left off. There is still flooding in the streets of Gotham due to Riddler’s explosive plot, creating an even greater separation between the rich and the poor. On top of that, it is winter and all that water will start to freeze.
Matt Reeves spoke to Digital Spy in an interview, which is detailed below but you can find here, to detail how Bruce Wayne’s view on things in Gotham has changed.
Reeves says, "There's a lot of unrest and there's a lot of clamouring because of the revelations of what we find out at the end of the [first] movie. There's unrest in the streets to say, 'Well, how could this be?'. The idea that this corruption extends as deep as it extends. In the first movie, Batman views things very simplistically, he sees things in black and white. What he can represent and how he can affect that.”
Batman’s moral code definitely epitomizes the idea of black and white thinking. Batman’s no kill rule is as famous as him. Even when it comes to pure evil adversaries, like the Joker, Batman will not kill. Reeves continues:
"As we enter into the next movie, there's a lot more grey. There's a lot more people at odds. There’s a lot more division in the city. It's a lot more like our world is now, there's a lot of turmoil because people are in their camps and they're not communicating. How does Batman fit into that? Where do you fit? It's not as clear as going, 'Oh yeah, bad guy, I go after bad guys'. And when things are in grey, it makes it very hard to be Batman, so this is part of the challenge as we enter it."
From Reeves’ previous comments, we already know Bruce is struggling to be Batman and that he blames himself for what happened in the first movie. This self blame he’s experiencing may be leading him down a path that is not black and white, but completely grey. It seems as if Batman may be questioning what a “bad guy” is. Is someone who recently lost everything due to the actions of a super villain and now must steal to feed their family a bad guy? If someone can’t find work anywhere in Gotham, then turns to the Penguin for work as a thug, is that a bad guy? If someone kills another man in self defense, should Batman go after them?
These moral issues are much more black and white in Batman comics. If someone commits a crime, Batman will take them down. He doesn’t ask the reason because, to him, it doesn’t matter. A criminal is a criminal, and they’re all cowardly and superstitious.
There has been a bit of criticism of Batman in the past few years, mostly in the form of jokes on the internet, about Batman beating up poor, mentally ill people in the night, and that being the entirety of Batman’s character. It’s a fair criticism, but, of course, Batman goes far beyond that. Reeves may be playing off this recent criticism of the character. Batman is likely paying less attention to the criminal who is only a criminal because of the consequences of the corrupt, a common theme in The Batman.
Reeves has made other comments about Batman looking further into corruption in Gotham and how it goes deeper than Bruce could have ever possibly imagined. Many of us are hoping this leads to the introduction of the Court of Owls. Maybe, to keep control over their city, the court is inciting violence and crime and fueling the corruption to keep themselves in power. A city at odds with itself will never come together against a shadowy threat, unless a Batman can unite them.
Time can only tell where The Batman Part II will take Bruce, Gotham, and moviegoers. Matt Reeves has confirmed shooting for the film will begin in 2025, so let’s all hope for no more delays for The Batman Part II.
How do you think Batman’s view on Gotham will change? How will it affect him? Let me know!