Tag: The Batman

  • ‘The Batman’ Director Wants to Keep the Focus on Bruce Wayne in the Sequel

    ‘The Batman’ Director Wants to Keep the Focus on Bruce Wayne in the Sequel

    Now, the headline is likely to have some wondering how a sequel to the film The Batman wouldn’t focus on Bruce Wayne, but director Matt Reeves has a good reason for that. His approach to the sequel seems to avoid the fact that the franchise’s main character isn’t overshadowed by the villains or members of his rogue’s gallery.

    It’s not uncommon for some of the villains to steal the show in the Batman franchise, especially with the Joker in The Dark Knight. As such, he is trying to keep Bruce Wayne at the “emotional center of the story.” In a way, the villains should be there to strengthen the character’s story rather than completely overtake it, as their backstory and central themes become the narrative focus point.

    To me, the thing that I really feel is that I also believe that Rob [Pattinson] is so special in the role. My goal has always been to do these point-of-view stories that allow the character to always be the emotional center of the story. Because a lot of times what happens is, after you do the first one, then suddenly other Rogues Gallery characters come in, and they kind of take over, and then Batman takes a backseat sort of character-wise, or emotionally

    Matt Reeves

    It’s a great approach to thoroughly explore Bruce Wayne and Batman’s duality in the story. The villains are there to enforce the central message but the emotional journey is always on Wayne. Christopher Nolan‘s take on the franchise tried to keep Bruce’s conflict in choosing which kind of life he wants to live. We’ll have to wait a bit longer until we find out how exactly he plans to anchor the story around Pattinson‘s take on the character.

    Source: Collider

  • Matt Reeves Provides Update on ‘The Batman’ Sequel Script

    Matt Reeves Provides Update on ‘The Batman’ Sequel Script

    The landscape of Warner’s DC films has been in major upheaval since James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired as co-CEOs to oversee the newly formed DC Studios. Various projects, including Wonder Woman 3 and a sequel to Black Adam, have been scrapped in favor of a fresh start for the new executive creative team. One project that has remained on the slate following these changes, however, is the upcoming sequel to The Batman. It’s confirmed that the Matt Reeves-directed 2022 film will be the first in a new saga overseen by the filmmaker which will exist in a universe that will apparently be separate from whatever creative direction Gunn and Safran lead at DC Studios.

    One notable question from audiences is when they should expect this new film. In a recent interview, Reeves provided an update on the status of his new script for The Batman’s sequel.

    I mean, I can’t give an update on that in terms of specifics, except to tell you that we are hard at work on the script. My partner (Mattson Tomlin) and I are deep in it and I’m excited about what we’re going to do.

    Matt Reeves

    Ultimately, there isn’t too much to glean from this specific quote about Matt Reeves’ new film. The notion that the film is deep in the scripting phase indicates that audiences shouldn’t expect to see Robert Pattinson return as the Caped Crusader in the immediate future.

    Fans of the well-received 2022 superhero film will be able to return to Gotham City before then, however; The Penguin is set to begin filming throughout 2023, which means a 2024 release for the Colin Farrell-led is likely. Meanwhile, shows based around the Gotham City Police Department and Arkham Asylum are in development at HBO Max.

    Source: Comicbook.com

  • ‘Avatar 2’, ‘The Batman’, Black Panther 2′ and More Shortlisted for Oscars

    ‘Avatar 2’, ‘The Batman’, Black Panther 2′ and More Shortlisted for Oscars

    It’s a big year for cinema, even while the box office has been struggling. We’ve seen some massive successes beat expectations, such as Top Gun Maverick taking the cinema by storm. Marvel was building back its pull at the box office with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. We’ve had indie standouts like Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Whale, The Banshees of Inisherin, and more. DC was even back in style with a creative new take on their iconic Dark Knight in The Batman.

    Now, the time has once again arrived for what the future has in store as we enter the awards season. The Oscars has just dropped its shortlisting for those films that may gain a nomination for the 95th Academy Awards. This is not the final nomination list but rather the first breakdown of those projects that have a chance of getting the coveted nomination.

    Here’s a quick highlight of some noticeable nominations for this year. Original Score has nominated some big projects like Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Devotion, Glass Onion, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Nope, and more. “Hold my Hand” by Top Gun: Maverick and “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther sequel join the Original Song shortlist among many others.

    The superhero and blockbuster genre once again dominates the Visual Effects shortlist, which includes The Batman, Wakanda Forever, and the Doctor Strange sequel, but is also joined by All Quiet on the Western Front, Jurassic World Dominion, Nope, and more. Though it would be hard to imagine the Avatar sequel not winning the category considering James Cameron‘s mastery of the arts over the many years of production.

    It’ll be exciting to see how the year turns out, and with the variety of projects currently out there, this might be one of the most exciting Oscars yet. Of course, everyone will have their favorite and feel like one project over the other should’ve won but it’s always great to celebrate the accomplishments of cinema from an indie, blockbuster, or just a movie lovers perspective.

    Source: Oscars

  • DC Studios Reportedly Considering Battinson as THE Batman in Their New Shared Universe

    DC Studios Reportedly Considering Battinson as THE Batman in Their New Shared Universe

    As James Gunn and Peter Safran continue their transition into the newly incorporated DC Studios, rumors and reports of the inner workings of the new company are all the rave. Last week’s news of Wonder Woman 3 and Man of Steel 2 being on the chopping block is still reverberating throughout Hollywood and now a new report has popped up that might cause an even bigger stir. According to Variety, DC Studios is considering finding a way to tie Matt ReevesThe Batman into the new, larger universe they are looking to build.

    The Batman was a financial success for Warner Bros. Discovery in March 2022, raking in $770M, making it the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year despite releasing when audiences weren’t yet completely comfortable returning to theaters amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While not necessarily a critical darling, the film was generally well-received by critics and audiences gave it an A- Cinemascore. In the months since its release, a sequel and several spinoffs that look to build out Gotham have been announced. Under the previous regime, it seemed that Reeves’ Gotham-verse was going to be its own, standalone branch, so the news that Gunn and Safran might look to tie their new vision to it is interesting.

    Of course, as Gunn himself said recently, there are more questions than answers about the future of DC Studios at this point. The interest in tying into Reeves’ very successful The Batman is logical as it’s one of the only IPs greenlit under the old regime that seems safe moving forward. On the other hand, there’s the question of just how easily other heroes and other stories might tie into what Reeves has and continues to develop. Until official word comes from Gunn and Safran, we’re all left to debate amongst ourselves.

    Source: Variety

  • Filming Schedule and Details for ‘The Penguin’ Revealed

    Filming Schedule and Details for ‘The Penguin’ Revealed

    Following the release of The Batman in theaters earlier this year, fans have long anticipated what the future could have in store for the future of this world. While it may apparently be a bit of time before a theatrical sequel, Matt Reeves has been in the midst of creating multiple spin-off shows for HBO Max to follow different facets of Gotham City. One of which is The Penguin, which will focus on Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot trying to gain control of the crime syndicate of Gotham after the new opening power vacuum following The Batman. While not much has been known about when audiences should expect the series, new details have come to light about the production that should leave people interested.

    According to The Illuminerdi, The Penguin will be filming in New York City between January to August 2023. This is a logical filming location for the show given the city’s ties to mafia-based projects in the past. As well, this filming schedule would seemingly indicate that the anticipated Batman-based show won’t release on HBO Max until early 2024 at the earliest.

    As well, “Boss” will be the working title for the series, which fits with the central theme of attaining control of the Gotham crime syndicate. It’s recently been revealed that Cristin Milioti will be playing Sofia Falcone, the main antagonist of the series who will have recently been released from Arkham Asylum. She will be joined by her brother Alberto Falcone, who will be the new don of the family following the death of their father in The Batman, and other relatives Johnny Viti and Consigliere Milos Grapa. No actors have been attached to these roles as of yet.

    In addition, it’s been revealed that The Penguin will also cover family turmoil for the Cobblepots as matriarch Francis will be struggling with Lewy Bodies Dementia. This will force the main family to deal with losing control and stability from within.

    Ultimately, it will be interesting to follow if The Penguin can match the creative and commercial success of The Batman and help further build this new universe. It certainly would be helpful for James Gunn and the newly revamped DC Studios as they seek a fresh start for the franchise.

    Source: The Illuminerdi

  • Cristin Milioti Cast as Sofia Falcone in ‘The Penguin’

    Cristin Milioti Cast as Sofia Falcone in ‘The Penguin’

    Cristin Milioti, who starred as Hazel Green in the HBO Max series Made for Love, has been cast as Sofia Falcone in the upcoming streaming series The Penguin. The series, which will also head to HBO Max, is part of The Batman director Matt Reeves’ growing Gotham-based universe of DC characters.

    In the comics, Sofia is the daughter of crime boss Carmine Falcone, who was played by John Turturro in The Batman. The character was first introduced in Batman: The Long Halloween and went on to become a serial killer known as The Hangman who targeted members of Gotham PD.

    According to Variety, Milioti’s character will be in a power struggle with Colin Farrell’s Penquin in the HBO Max series. Reeves is serving as an executive producer on the series while he continues to develop both a sequel to The Batman and other series, such as one based in Arkham Asylum. The Penguin will be written by showrunner Lauren LeFranc with Craig Zobel helming the first two episodes of the series which, according to Farrell, will consist of either 6 or 8 episodes.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘The Batman 2’ Won’t Be in Theaters Any Time Soon

    ‘The Batman 2’ Won’t Be in Theaters Any Time Soon

    As news comes of Warner Bros. hiring of James Gunn and Peter Safran to lead the way for the newly-minted DC Studios, fans of Matt Reeves’ The Batman also received a disappointing update on the sequel to the 2022 film. According to Variety’s Zack Sharf, The Batman 2 won’t be headed to theaters for at least another 3 years.

    Sharf reported that the film, which Reeves began developing in April of 2022, is still without a complete script. The director had already been planning the sequel long before that, but is also involved in and overseeing the creation of several other projects based in and around the Gotham of his Batman Universe. Even with the shift to a DC Films DC Universe, the studio seems to remain committed to Reeves’ projects, though it’s unclear what, if any, connectivity they will share with the future DCU. At the moment, Reeves’ Gotham-verse looks to consist of the Colin Farrell-led HBO Max series, The Penguin, an Arkham Asylum series being developed by showrunner Antonio Campos, and multiple films focusing on Batman’s Rogues Gallery with characters such as Scarecrow, Clayface and Professor Pyg among those up for solo outings.

    With all that going on, it’s easy to see how Reeves may not have The Batman 2 out in theaters anytime soon. However, it’s clear that there’s both an audience for Reeves’ vision and support for it at DC Studios, so while fans will have a bit of a wait, at least it won’t be a stressful one.

  • ‘Joker’ Sequel Not Part of DC Studios, Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ Franchise Uncertain

    ‘Joker’ Sequel Not Part of DC Studios, Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ Franchise Uncertain

    The news not too long ago broke that Warner Bros. Discovery has found its new head(s) of the newly founded DC Studios. Walter Hamada’s former DC Films now has two co-CEOs in The Suicide Squad director James Gunn and long-time producer Peter Safran. Of course, the studio’s plans, at least what WBD CEO David Zaslav imagines, will create its own cinematic universe moving forward. So, it opens the question of what that means for other entries in the franchise such as the Joker sequel and Matt Reeve‘s The Batman franchise.

    Todd Phillips‘ upcoming Joker: Folie á Deux will not be supervised by the newly formed CEO duo but rather fall under the supervision of Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. As such, it seems very likely that this project will act independently from the other DC projects, especially as it mainly explores a unique take on a familiar character. Matt ReevesThe Batman universe however is the biggest question mark to date. While we just got the news that they are moving forward with an Arkham Asylum-based series, it seems that its place in the universe is still uncertain.

    We might have to wait a bit before we find out any actual details on what the future of the DCEU will look like; if it’ll have that name moving forward. The Batman will likely continue given the recent success of the first film’s entry with Penguin’s spinoff already starting production. It does seem like they won’t be rebooting the entire franchise but use the current projects as a jumping-off point. Black Adam just released and various other projects are already ins some form of development. So, we’ll have to see if they are just waiting for The Flash to reboot the franchise.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘The Staircase’ Creator Joins ‘The Batman’s Arkham Asylum Spinoff as Showrunner

    ‘The Staircase’ Creator Joins ‘The Batman’s Arkham Asylum Spinoff as Showrunner

    We’ve long wondered what exactly is happening with The Batman spinoff series focused on Arkham Asylum. While Colin Farrell‘s Penguin spinoff has recently started picking up speed, it seems that the untitled Arkham series is finally moving forward. Variety has shared that the creator of The Staircase, Antonio Campos, has joined the production as its showrunner. He will also act as executive producer and director for the series but only if his version gets the greenlight.

    It should be noted that he’s the third writer to join the DC project, which has been announced all the way back in 2020. It originally started as a show focused on Gotham PD before it slowly merged into a project focused on the iconic insane asylum of Gotham. Terence Winter was originally attached to the project before Joe Barton took over, which was the point it took its current direction.

    Matt Reeves is still attached to producing the series and he had hinted at it being a horror series that takes place in the same universe. There’s still no word if we should expect this project potentially acting as a sequel to the events of the first film or even as a prequel, especially with the untold story of how Barry Keoghan‘s Joker ended up in Arkham. Whatever direction the project takes, it’ll definitely be interesting and we’ll see if the project even starts rolling the cameras at some point.

    Source: Variety

  • Matt Reeves Developing Multiple Projects Based on Batman’s Villains

    Matt Reeves Developing Multiple Projects Based on Batman’s Villains

    Along with developing a sequel to the critically acclaimed The Batman, Matt Reeves is looking to expand his DC universe. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that, along with the previously announced Penguin spinoff, Reeves is currently meeting with writers and directors to build out movies focused on Batman’s rogue’s gallery. It is of note, that the outlet suggests the projects will focus on both established and obscure villains, including characters ranging from Scarecrow to Professor Pyg.

    All of these projects are said to be in the very early stages of development, but Reeves is keen to build out movies on these characters. Like with The Penguin, Reeves will be involved to an extent, but his main focus is The Batman 2.

    Updating…

    Source: THR.