While doing press for HBO's The Penguin spin-off series, The Batman director Matt Reeves has shared some very interesting new details about his upcoming sequel, which is scheduled to begin shooting early next year.
While speaking to Collider, Reeves confirmed that he still intends to complete the trilogy he originally envisioned prior to James Gunn and Peter Safran taking over as co-heads of the recently-implemented DC Studios.
"Yes, that is still the plan," said the filmmaker. "I mean, it’s sticking very closely to the path we envisioned."
There was some concern that any plans that may have been in place would be changed with the formation of the DCU, especially since a new take on the Dark Knight is set to be introduced in The Brave and the Bold down the line.
"Things kind of shifted," Reeves admitted. "So, when we came up with the idea to do The Penguin, that was something where I had always intended to continue Penguin's story, and wanted to tell this story of his beginning of rise to power. Because we know that he's introduced in The Batman as a kind of mid-level, sort of overlooked, mocked figure, who's not yet in anyone's eyes the kingpin we come to know him as in the lore. And so, that was deliberate because I wanted— whereas it wasn't Batman's origin story, I wanted the origin stories of these other characters, of the Rogues Gallery and that story was originally going to be the entrée into the next movie."
Reeves went on to confirm that The Penguin picks up about a week after the events of The Batman.
"The story plays out over the next weeks that take you toward the end of the year. We don't play Christmas or New Years, but we're getting there."
The director has previously revealed that The Batman - Part II will pick up shortly after The Penguin finale, which obviously suggests that the sequel will have a winter setting.
As for the movie's mysterious antagonist(s), Reeves isn't quite ready to reveal who the Caped Crusader will be facing-off against next, but he did touch on the subject during a separate interview with Total Film.
“I want the emotional part of the story to be Robert Pattinson’s – to be Bruce & Batman’s... I’m excited by the antagonist of the next movie, but I don’t want Batman’s arc to step back to allow space for another group of characters.”
This would seem to indicate that Bats won't be up against numerous villains, as previous rumors have claimed. We know Colin Farrell will be back as the Penguin, so there's always a chance the movie's primary antagonist will be Barry Keoghan's Joker.
Farrell may have hinted at an alliance in the following video interview.