Draft:The Batman (franchise)

The Batman is an American media franchise and shared universe based on Batman characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was created by filmmaker Matt Reeves and producer Dylan Clark. The franchise is centered on a series of superhero and crime films and television series produced by DC Studios, 6th & Idaho, and Dylan Clark Productions. The films are distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The franchise also includes a comic book and a novel, and is a part of the "DC Elseworlds" label of content separate from the continuity of Warner Bros.' franchises the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and the DC Universe (DCU).

Work on a new trilogy of Batman films had begun by May 2019 with the first film The Batman (2022) planned to launch a Batman-focused shared universe separate from the DCEU, which the film was initially developed for. The franchise is instead set in the universe known as "Earth-2" within the DC Multiverse. The Batman will be followed by a sequel entitled The Batman – Part II in 2026. By July 2020, Warner Bros. was developing spin-off series from The Batman to further explore its other characters and history, with the first of these being The Penguin (2024). Reeves is developing a number of films and series spin-offs centered on members of Batman's rogues gallery, including a series featuring the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD).

Development
Ben Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne / Batman in August 2013, to appear in multiple films set in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), Warner Bros.' shared universe based on DC Comics characters. He made his debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), before appearing in Suicide Squad (2016) and Justice League (2017). In October 2014, Warner Bros. revealed plans for a standalone Batman film starring Affleck, and he was in negotiations to direct and co-write the screenplay by July 2015. Affleck was confirmed to be directing the film in April 2016, and he revealed the film's title was The Batman in October. Affleck began to have reservations about directing the film, and announced in January 2017 that he was stepping down as director but still planned to star and produce.

Matt Reeves took over as writer and director of The Batman in February 2017, and he initially planned to keep the film's connections to the DCEU. However, Reeves eventually decided that this would distract from Batman's character arc and asked Warner Bros. for the creative freedom to move outside of the shared universe, as he felt he should not be obligated to connect it to other aspects of the DCEU. He sought to explore Batman's detective side more than previous films, and wanted to be able to create a version of Batman with a "personal aspect to it". He reworked the story to focus on Batman earlier in his vigilante career, with plans to cast a younger actor to play Batman; Warner Bros. was planning to replace Affleck by July 2017. Affleck departed from the film outright in January 2019, allowing Reeves to remove the film's DCEU connections. The Batman ultimately served as a reboot of the Batman film series, and Robert Pattinson was cast to star in The Batman in the titular role in May 2019, when the film was intended to be the first in a new trilogy of Batman films, and key cast members were reported to have signed on for future films by that November. By September 2021, Warner Bros.' parent WarnerMedia was confirmed to be planning for The Batman to establish a Batman-focused shared universe separate from the DCEU. Warner Bros.' incorporation of the multiverse in its DC productions allowed Reeves to take the project in his own direction; as a consequence, the film takes place in a separate world known as "Earth-2".

In July 2020, WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max gave a series commitment to a police procedural television series centered on the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD), which would be a prequel to The Batman. HBO Max was developing a spin-off limited series centered on the character the Penguin from the film by September 2021. The GCPD series was put on hold by early March 2022 in favor of spin-offs focused on existing comic book characters; of these, the Penguin series was the furthest in development, and would come before a sequel to The Batman and could tie-into that potential second film. Meanwhile, the GCPD series was reworked into a series focused on the Arkham Asylum from The Batman, while HBO Max ordered The Penguin shortly after The Batman's release. The next month, Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO David Zaslav. A sequel to The Batman was officially announced at Warner Bros. Pictures' CinemaCon panel later in April. In August, Reeves signed an overall first-look film deal with Warner Bros. Pictures Group for his production company 6th & Idaho and renewed his deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios.

By October 2022, Reeves was meeting with directors and writers for several films and series that were in early development and centered on members of Batman's rogues gallery, while the GCPD series continued development separate from the Arkham series. Writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran were announced as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios at the end of the month to oversee DC's film and television projects and to develop a new DC Universe (DCU). Gunn had contacted Reeves about his projects by the next month, while Zaslav said of the new DCU plan, "There's not going to be four Batmans". Gunn debunked reports in December that Pattinson's version of Batman would be integrated with the DCU. In January 2023, Reeves said he was meeting with Gunn and Safran to discuss how they could avoid their plans clashing, and called his franchise the "BatVerse" and an "epic crime saga". Gunn and Safran announced the first projects for the DCU at the end of the month, including a new Batman film entitled The Brave and the Bold. Gunn said any project that did not fit into the DCU's shared universe would be labeled as "DC Elseworlds" moving forward. This is the same as how DC Comics uses the Elseworlds imprint to mark comic books that are separate from the main continuity. Reeves' franchise was set to be a part of this label, including The Batman, The Batman – Part II (2026), and an in-development third The Batman film, as well as The Penguin,  and the series featuring the GCPD. The Penguin was officially announced in April and was billed as "the next chapter in The Batman saga". The Arkham series was revealed in December to be part of the DCU instead.

The Batman (2022)


During his second year of fighting crime, Batman pursues the Riddler, a serial killer who targets elite Gotham City citizens. He uncovers corruption that connects to his own family during the investigation, and is forced to make new allies to catch the Riddler and bring the corrupt to justice.

Development began after Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) in 2013, and it was announced in October 2014. Affleck signed on to direct, produce, co-write, and star in The Batman, but had reservations about the project and dropped out. Matt Reeves took over as writer and director and reworked the story, removing the DCEU connections. He sought to explore Batman's detective side more than previous films, drawing inspiration from the films of Alfred Hitchcock and the New Hollywood era,  and comics such as Year One (1987), The Long Halloween (1996–97),  and Ego (2000). Robert Pattinson was cast in May 2019, and Mattson Tomlin was revealed to be co-writing the script that October; Peter Craig co-wrote the screenplay with Reeves, with Tomlin uncredited. Filming began in the United Kingdom in January 2020, but was halted in March by the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed later in the year and concluded in Chicago in March 2021. The Batman premiered at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan on March 1, 2022, and was theatrically released on March 4.

The Batman – Part II (2026)
The Batman was planned to be the first in a new trilogy of Batman films during development. A sequel to The Batman was officially announced in April 2022, with Reeves returning as the writer and director along with Pattinson as star, while Tomlin joined to co-write in August. The title was revealed in January 2023. Filming is expected to begin in April 2025, at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, in the United Kingdom. The Batman – Part II is scheduled to be released on October 2, 2026.

Future
A third The Batman film is planned to conclude the intended trilogy. In December 2021, Pattinson said he had ideas for developing Bruce Wayne / Batman's character in further films, while Clark said The Batman would lay a foundation for future films to build upon. In early 2022, Pattinson and Reeves expressed interest in introducing Robin and featuring the Court of Owls, Calendar Man, Mr. Freeze, or Hush as villains in a sequel.

The Penguin
One week following the events of The Batman, the series explores the rise to power of Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / Penguin in Gotham City's criminal underworld.

By September 2021, HBO Max was developing a spin-off series focused on the Penguin. Lauren LeFranc was hired as showrunner, with Reeves and Clark serving as executive producers. Colin Farrell signed on to reprise his role and executive produce in December. Reeves compared the series to The Long Good Friday (1980) and Scarface (1983), charting Penguin's rise to power in Gotham's criminal underworld following the events of The Batman. The spin-off was the furthest along in development by March 2022, and Reeves said it would come before The Batman – Part II. HBO Max ordered The Penguin as a limited series that month. In October, Craig Zobel was hired to direct the first three episodes of the series and to serve as an executive producer, with Helen Shaver also directing. Filming began in March 2023, in New York City, but was suspended in June because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Filming resumed at the end of November, and wrapped in February 2024. The Penguin is scheduled to release on September 19, 2024, on HBO, and will consist of eight episodes.

Clancy Brown portrays Salvatore Maroni, a character who was portrayed by an uncredited extra in The Batman.

Untitled Gotham City Police Department series
In July 2020, HBO Max gave a series commitment to a police procedural television series centered on the GCPD, with Terence Winter set to write and serve as showrunner. Reeves, Winter, Clark, Daniel Pipski, and Adam Kassan were executive producing the series. In August, Reeves said the series would be a prequel to The Batman, taking place during the first year of Batman's career and focusing on the corruption in Gotham and the GCPD. He said the series would be told from the perspective of one particular crooked cop, with the story being a "battle for his soul", taking inspiration from Prince of the City (1981).

In November 2020, Winter left the project due to creative differences, and Joe Barton was hired to replace him in January 2021. HBO still had creative issues with the project, especially with its protagonist being a corrupt cop, and they encouraged Reeves to focus on existing comics characters instead. In March 2022, Reeves said the series was on indefinite hold, though he hoped to revisit the premise in the future. James Gordon actor Jeffrey Wright revealed there had been discussions about him appearing in the series but he did not entertain the idea before the film's release. In October, the GCPD series was revealed to still be in development.

Other projects
Reeves revealed in March 2022 that initial work on the GCPD series had led to work on a new idea based on the Arkham State Hospital. He said the series would build upon Arkham's introduction in the film and explore the origins of different characters related to it. He envisioned a horror tone, with Arkham being depicted as a haunted house. In October, Antonio Campos was hired to write and direct the series in addition to serving as showrunner and an executive producer, when Reeves was developing it for the DCU, which Gunn revealed in December 2023.

By October 2022, Reeves was meeting with directors and writers for several films and series that were in early development and centered on members of Batman's rogues gallery, such as Scarecrow, Clayface, and Professor Pyg. In March 2023, filmmaker Mike Flanagan and his Intrepid Pictures partner Trevor Macy met with Gunn and Safran regarding a Clayface film, in which he would not be the villain that he typically is portrayed as in the comics. If the film were to move forward it was unclear at the time if it would be part of the DCU or be under the "DC Elseworlds" label; The Batman – Part II was also expected to feature the character.

Before the Batman
A prequel novel to The Batman, entitled Before the Batman: An Original Movie Novel, was written by David Lewman and published by Random House on February 1, 2022. A digital version was made available to those who purchased tickets for the film from IMC Theatres. The novel establishes the film's origins for the Batman and the Riddler, as well as the origins of Batman's partnership with the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) and Lieutenant Janice Dure, who was his partner before Jim Gordon.

The Riddler: Year One
In March 2022, Reeves announced The Riddler: Year One, a prequel comic book set to be published bimonthly through DC's adult-oriented Black Label imprint beginning in October 2022. The six-issue limited series is written by Riddler actor Paul Dano and illustrated by Stevan Subic, with Dano's likeness drawn for his character.