The Stories We Could See Next In The Batman's Sequels

The following article contains spoilers for "The Batman."

"The Batman" is here, and by practically every measure, it's a resounding success. The film has already earned wide praise from audiences and critics alike. You'll be hard-pressed to find any negative reviews of the movie, as everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves with this darker, more epic tale of the Dark Knight, played by Robert Pattinson, protecting the city of Gotham from a serial killer calling himself the Riddler (Paul Dano). At times, it's a moody noir detective story. Other times, it's a romance between Batman and Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz). But all of the time, it's an engaging story.

After delays and various pushed-back production dates, people can finally witness "The Batman" in all of its glory. And now that people can finally watch it, the only question on fans' minds is when we'll be able to see the sequel. A follow-up is all but a certainty at this point. "The Batman" producer Dylan Clark has even gone on the record as saying "The Batman 2" will most likely hit theaters in "less than five years" (via ComicBook.com). 

So who will the Caped Crusader go up against in the sequel? He has no shortage of baddies in his rogues' gallery, and there are many directions the story could take in terms of plot. Seeing how "The Batman" draws influence from the likes of "The Long Halloween," "Year One," and "Ego," here are some other stories that could function as jumping-off points for "The Batman" sequel.

"The Court of Owls" arc is a highlight of the New 52 run of DC Comics. Written by Scott Snyder with art from Greg Capullo, the story tells of a clandestine group of Gotham's elite who have controlled everything about the city since colonial times. It introduces a new foe for the Dark Knight in the form of the Owls and their guardian — Talon.

The story has deep, dark noir vibes perfectly in line with what director Matt Reeves achieved with "The Batman," so it wouldn't be a stretch by any limit of the imagination to transpose the Owls into this new universe. Not only that, but the cast of "The Batman" seems particularly keen on going up against the Owls and Talon at some point. 

The cast of "The Batman" did an interview with Vanity Fair where they discussed everything from fan theories about "The Batman" to ideas for the sequel. At one point, Robert Pattinson mentions, "I was definitely kind of thinking Court of Owls is probably gonna be in the sequel." He then proceeds to play a little coy, stating, "It definitely seems like — I mean, I am literally just guessing, I just keep saying it." Given how Riddler targeted Gotham's elite in "The Batman," a follow-up focusing on the more underhanded actions taken by said elite would undoubtedly be intriguing to witness.

In "Batman: Hush," written by Jeph Loeb with art from Jim Lee, Batman goes up against an old friend who's turned to crime to get his revenge on the Wayne family. Thomas Elliot assumes the mantle of Hush, setting up numerous puzzles and obstacles for the Dark Knight to get through in order to finally arrive at him. Of course, at the end of the book, the reader learns it was really Riddler pulling all of the strings. Seeing how Riddler's already been established in the universe of "The Batman," could a Hush storyline be far behind?

The film actually sets up several elements of this story that a sequel could pick up on. For starters, when you go to Riddler's website in real life, answer his riddles, and gain access to a video file, there's a scene where Riddler overlays the video with text reading, "Hush!" Not only that, but in the movie, the reporter's last name, who Thomas Wayne (Luke Roberts) wanted to silence, was "Elliot." Any adaptation would likely deviate from the source material, but all of the seeds are there for Hush to make his feature-length, live-action film debut.

One of the most iconic Batman storylines in recent memories was "A Death in the Family." This was when DC Comics did the unthinkable and killed off Batman's trusty sidekick, Jason Todd. It was a controversial decision at the time of release, and it's only grown to have greater significance with the release of the "Under the Red Hood" arc where Jason Todd comes back to life and dons the moniker of Red Hood, which would be adapted into live-action on "Titans" Season 3.

The films could easily adapt this story, although it would probably work best if "The Batman 2" introduced Robin while "The Batman 3" took him away. Again, it's another storyline that's earned some support from the cast of "The Batman." At a panel event, Robert Pattinson discussed his willingness to adapt "A Death in the Family," stating, "Yeah, but he has to be 13. That's the only way I'll accept it. No, I love 'Death in the Family' and stuff, but I think it'd be so cool. Also, people are so scared of it, but it's kind of exciting. I think it would be a really fun addition" (via Collider).

Director Matt Reeves seemed to agree with him: "Yeah, there's no way. We won't do that. No, I'm kidding. Yeah, totally, I agree with that." This is only a small sampling of stories "The Batman 2" and beyond could adapt. The Batman mythos is massive, and if there's anything we've learned from "The Batman," it's to expect the unexpected.