The Batman 2 needs to make some natural changes to the Dark Knight, but in doing so, the film risks losing what made Robert Pattinson’s Batman unique.
The Batman 2 risks losing some of the aspects that made Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight unique. Pattinson is currently the only actor set to continue playing Batman in live-action, as The Flash ended the story of the Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck versions of Batman from director Tim Burton’s movies and the DCEU, respectively. With the old DCEU soon getting rebooted with James Gunn’s DC Universe, a new Batman actor will rise, as the character will lead the announced The Brave and the Bold movie. Pattinson’s version of the hero will remain as an Elseworlds take on the character under Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe.
In addition to the main films focused on Pattinson’s Dark Knight, Reeves is hard at work developing other Batman spinoff films and series — including Colin Farrel’s The Penguin show and an Arkham Asylum series. 2025 will be a big year for DC, with both Batman and Superman receiving long-awaited new movies. The DC Universe will finally release its first film with David Corenswet leading Superman: Legacy, while Pattinson returns as the Dark Knight in The Batman 2 following an excellent debut. However, the natural progression of the character might see the sequel lose what made Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne unique.
The Batman Showed A Flawed And Inexperienced Superhero
The Batman was not an origin story for Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne; however, the movie focused on a Batman that was just in the second year of his career as Gotham City’s hero. The most interesting aspect of Pattinson’s character was that The Batman allowed audiences to finally see a version of the Dark Knight that was flawed and inexperienced. While other Batman movies have touched on the start of Bruce’s career as Batman, Pattinson’s debut as the DC hero was the only film to focus on him learning the ropes of his role and making mistakes along the way, something The Batman 2 could change.
There are numerous instances that show Bruce isn’t at the level where all he needs is “prep time” to get out of any situation like Batman is known for. The Batman presents the biggest detective story that has been seen from the character in live-action, and while Bruce does a good job piecing together the clues left by The Riddler, Batman is not infallible. It takes the Penguin’s “help” for Bruce to understand the El Rata Alada clue, and later in the film, Batman takes too long to discover that the murder weapon that 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed the Mayor is a carpet scraper, which he then uses to reveal The Riddler’s plan.
Batman Will Likely Be More Polished In The Batman 2
Pattinson’s Batman will evolve in the second movie as the character naturally progresses into being more in balance with his dual life, as well as what it takes to succeed as the Dark Knight. The Batman saw the hero not only falter at times in his detective work but also in fights and even traversal around Gotham. Being Batman for longer, Bruce is unlikely to repeat mistakes like the one where he fell from the sky while using his wingsuit and hurt himself, as well as Batman needing to use adrenaline not to die and save Catwoman from The Riddler’s henchman at the end of the film.
While it is currently unclear how much time will have passed between the end of the first film and the start of The Batman 2, it is expected that at least a year will have gone by, with Pattinson’s Dark Knight being more experienced in his role. That time should allow Batman to have ironed out most of the details that didn’t go his way during the original movie’s investigation of The Riddler, as well as come up with a new Batsuit that helps him withstand greater damage during fights against perhaps a more demanding foe, with many fans asking for Mr. Freeze to be The Batman 2‘s villain.
Why A Fallible Bruce Wayne Worked So Well In The Batman
Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne was still in an awful spot mentally in The Batman, with the character being overtly violent and not showing signs of the playboy persona Bruce is known for. Reeves’ choice for the character’s debut was interesting, as it humanized Batman, the DC character that is often seen as an unstoppable force but is really just human. Bruce getting things wrong made The Batman more interesting, as the possibility of failure raised the movie’s stakes, making The Riddler’s threat more real. With the character becoming more sure of himself in the sequel, The Batman 2 risks losing the original film’s sense of urgency that made Pattinson’s Batman unique.
