Major spoiler warning for The Batman—you’ve been warned.
Across its nearly three-hour runtime, Matt Reeves’ The Batman suffers not for plot. Although the movie concludes in a pretty straightforward manner without any overt hints at a sequel, Reeves—who has been vocal about envisioning The Batman as a start to a new trilogy—is keeping his eye on the big picture by planting some seeds to harvest in future installments. Judging by the clues and implications laid out in the film’s final scenes, Reeves is seemingly looking to draw from a wealth of different Batman inspirations for what’s next, including one of the comic’s most ambitious crossovers and a recently beloved story. Here’s what the events of the movie could mean for the future of Reeves’ take on the Caped Crusader.
No Man’s Land
The breaking of Gotham’s levees is a big part of The Riddler’s endgame during the climax of The Batman but may also serve as a compelling starting point for the sequel—especially if Reeves is looking to adapt elements of the “No Man’s Land” storyline. Published in early 1999, “No Man’s Land” is a staggering and extensive 84-part crossover between all the Batman comic book titles. The main story involves a 7.6 earthquake hitting Gotham City, destroying Wayne Manor, the Batcave, and causing a city-wide evacuation. The US government then places Gotham into quarantine by blowing up all bridges connecting the city to the rest of the mainland, effectively trapping and abandoning everyone else inside. As various villains carve up the city in a power grab, Batman fights for the innocents left behind.
While The Batman’s ending doesn’t involve an earthquake, the flooding in Gotham is enough of an event for Bruce to believe the city is at significant risk. We see a specific shot of Colin Farrell’s Penguin looking over the city as Bruce articulates his concerns over a potential land grab. The city’s flooding can undoubtedly be used for Reeves to introduce new foes in the future, saying they rose to power in the wake of the power vacuum and chaos caused by the flooding and the death of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).
You’ve Got a Friend in Me
Yes, that friend The Riddler made in Arkham Asylum is exactly who you think it was. Reeves has, inevitably, unleashed another cinematic take on The Joker into the world. Played by Barry Keoghan, we mostly only hear his version of the character as he acquaints himself with Riddler —although there is a brief glimpse of his scarred face.
Considering we’ve had two different versions of the Joker in the last six years alone, I’m not sure we needed another so soon—although casting Keoghan is an inspired choice. He was one of the few bright parts of Eternals, and I think about his unhinged behavior in The Killing of a Sacred Deer quite a bit (never has someone eating a plate of spaghetti been so upsetting). He has the chops to pull off a role like this. I’m more intrigued to see how Reeves will incorporate Keoghan into future sequels. Has Batman already encountered The Joker in this universe? Will Joker end up as the final foe in this trilogy of films? However he’s utilized, I hope Reeves comes up with a plan to show audiences something new and bold for what’s becoming one of pop culture’s most overexposed roles.
Welcome to Blüdhaven
As Selina (Zoë Kravitz) and Batman share their goodbyes, Selina mentions she’s heading to Blüdhaven in search of another score. A simple throwaway line of dialog is bound to make Batman comic readers lose their minds, as the city has a storied history.
Smaller in scale than the sprawl of Gotham, Blüdhaven was once a whaling town, but its working-class population fell on hard times after the city couldn’t transform itself into a robust sea-commerce port. This allowed for a criminal element to take hold, as the scheming villain Blockbuster uses his superior intellect to rise to power and control Blüdhaven. Upon shedding the Robin mantle and becoming Nightwing, Dick Grayson moves to the city, protecting it as Bruce does with Gotham.
Two notable events make Blüdhaven bleaker than Gotham. The first is a destruction of the city by the supervillain Chemo (a sentient piece of toxic chemicals,) who explodes and renders the city uninhabitable, killing over 100,000 people in the process. In the 2009 crossover event, Final Crisis, Blüdhaven also functions as Darkseid’s (DC’s version of Thanos) base of operations, leveraging the city’s desolate nature to grow his dark power.
Blüdhaven’s inclusion in The Batman was likely just an easter egg, as it’s (probably) too early in Battinson’s tenure to introduce a Robin. But after so much time spent in Gotham City, it’s nice to see Reeves acknowledge a bigger world outside of Gotham—without having to include Metropolis or Themyscira in the process.
The Bat and the Cat
“The Bat and the Cat. It’s got a nice ring.” While The Batman is the third film to feature Catwoman, it is the first movie to draw inspiration from writer Tom King’s storied tenure on Batman and his specific portrayal (down to the repeated use of “Bat” and “Cat” as pet nicknames for one another) of the romance between Batman and Catwoman. King’s run saw Bruce and Selina make a serious go at dating, essentially turning Batman into a wife guy. Bruce went so far as to propose to Selina. While she initially said yes, Selina ends up leaving Bruce at the altar out of concern that a happy Batman won’t be able to protect Gotham adequately. After some time—and delivering a smackdown to Bane—the two rekindled their relationship. While they’re not legally married, the two are devoted to one another in a way that resembles a marriage.
Selina’s read on Batman at the end of the film charts a similar path, as she realizes that Bruce’s true love is Gotham—for now at least. Reeves smartly leaves the door open for more, and we hope this isn’t the last word on the Bat and the Cat.