Is Matt Reeves Setting Himself Up for Failure with The Batman 2?

 

With The Batman, director and co-writer Matt Reeves has given us the first standalone film about the titular billionaire superhero since Christopher Nolan concluded his Dark Knight trilogy. (In actuality, nearly a decade has passed. The ten-year anniversary of The Dark Knight Rises, the disappointing conclusion to an otherwise fantastic series, is approaching. Ben Affleck has already portrayed Batman three times, and Michael Keaton is set to reprise the role after 30 years.) And with Pattinson having signed a three-picture deal, it is evident that Reeves intends to replicate Nolan's Batman trilogy with his own. The Batman ends by teasing its sequel by introducing its next antagonist, just as Nolan did in Batman Begins.

Warning: major spoilers ahead for The Batman. Continue at your own risk.

And it turns out to be the same person: the Joker (Barry Keoghan, credited as Unseen Arkham Prisoner). All indications point to the Clown Prince of Crime being a part of The Batman 2, The Batman Part II, or whatever the hell Warner Bros. decide to call its sequel. Reeves doesn't explicitly confirm it, but I expect an interview in which he or someone else does so in the coming weeks. There is the "clown" remark, an unmistakable laugh, and a brief, hazy glance at his face. It could not have been anyone else. And if Batman's archenemy appears in a film, you can bet he will be the main antagonist. A first Batman reboot sequel that focuses on the Joker? Where have I previously heard that before? I've already hinted that it's The Dark Knight, so there's no point in guessing correctly.

ALSO SEE Our Spoiler-Free Review of The Batman

It is daring, amusing, and intriguing that Reeves would take The Batman 2 in this direction. As I mentioned in my review, The Batman itself contained elements that reminded me of The Dark Knight, which I find amusing. Riddler's (Paul Dano) targeting of Gotham City's elite is one example. In the same manner as the Joker (Heath Ledger) in The Dark Knight. Even the victims are redundant. Joker pursued the commissioner, a judge, the mayor (unsuccessfully), Rachel, and the prosecutor. Riddler goes after the mayor, the commissioner, the district attorney, and Bruce Wayne (but instead receives Alfred, played by Andy Serkis). The Batman does not feature Rachel, but the pattern is identical: police, law, legislative, and personal. They each claim to have their own motives, but it all boils down to playing with Batman. They are engaged in play.

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Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight as the Joker

Image Source: DC Comics/Warner Bros.

The similarities continue from there. After the villain is apprehended, as in The Dark Knight, although the Riddler surrenders in The Batman, our detective superhero confronts him face-to-face. The setting may be different (a hospital as opposed to a police station) and there may be a glass wall separating them (unlike in The Dark Knight), but the underlying tension remains the same. (Some of Riddler's lines and strategies resemble those of the Joker.) Batman is powerless in his "interrogation" scenes, and the only information he obtains from the prisoner is information that the prisoner volunteers. Obviously, there are significant differences, most notably in terms of when these scenes occur in each film and how they fit into the larger picture.

By creating the Joker's first sequel, Reeves invites direct comparisons. It is perplexing why he would willingly place himself in that predicament. It also places Keoghan in a position that is not enviable. Ledger received a posthumous Oscar and other honors, and his portrayal of the Joker is frequently cited as the greatest live-action comic book villain ever. Everyone who has portrayed the Joker since Ledger has been naturally compared to him. The one-time appearance of Jared Leto in David Ayer's Suicide Squad was not well received. Joaquin Phoenix performed admirably in Todd Phillips' Joker, but he was trapped in a film that had nothing to say and bordered on being highly irresponsible, equating mental illness with a propensity for violence.

ALSO SEEWhy The Dark Knight Is Among the Greatest Films of All Time

And The Dark Knight is the film that quietly transformed the Academy Awards. Most in the industry agree that Nolan's epic's failure to receive a Best Picture nomination prompted the Academy to abandon the rule requiring five nominees. The Academy, which organizes the Oscars, announced shortly thereafter that it was expanding the field. Instead of five, it would now be possible to nominate up to ten films. (Beginning with the 2022 Oscars, a fixed number of ten films will be nominated for Best Picture.) Thanks to The Dark Knight, comic book films began to be taken more seriously, which is why Black Panther was nominated for Best Picture a few years ago.

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Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves on the Batman set

Image Source: Jonathan Olley/DC Comics

Given the scope of The Dark Knight, it is audacious of Reeves to make the Joker the protagonist of the sequel. However, The Batman is a daring film. It is unlike any other comic book currently available. More psychological horror than what audiences have come to expect from superhero films in recent years: a comedic action drama. This perception is largely attributable to Marvel's dominance in the genre, as DC and Sony have largely adopted the same philosophy. In this regard, it is notably distinct from even Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Similar to what Damon Lindelof's Watchmen did for superhero television programming.

The Batman requires a great deal from its audience, and not just because it is nearly three hours long. 176 minutes to be exact. The Dark Knight Rises (165 minutes) was longer than The Dark Knight (152 minutes), which was longer than Batman Begins (140 minutes), whereas Reeves is demanding this from the beginning. The Batman is not only longer than anything else directed by Christopher Nolan or any other standalone Batman film, but it is also the longest superhero film ever centered on a single character. Mega-team-up films Avengers: Endgame (181 minutes) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (242 minutes) are the only superhero films longer than The Batman.

Additionally, War for the Planet of the Apes is a fitting conclusion to the decade's best trilogy.

It demonstrates Warner's confidence in Reeves, whose new executives clearly have a greater tolerance for risk than those who imposed a two-hour runtime limit on Justice League, the poorly received theatrical version of Snyder's director's cut. And given Reeves' track record with Planet of the Apes, which I contend is the best trilogy of the 2010s, I have faith in The Batman director as well. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope he knows what he's doing. The Dark Knight is one of my all-time favorite films, so The Batman 2 will have to be something insane, special, and legendary in order to avoid being an afterthought. Reeves has invited the comparison, for which he must account.