The Batman is set to see Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight face off against multiple of his most iconic enemies. So far, Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), the Riddler (Paul Dano) and the Penguin (Colin Farrell, all but 100% confirmed) have been cast. Fans have been wondering how there’ll be room for all these villains in a single film, but this might be exactly the point, as a new report says Warner Bros. is planning on giving each of these characters their own spinoff.
In Variety’s must-read report on the future of the DCEU, the trade writes that if Matt Reeves’ reboot turns out to be the success they’re hoping it’ll be, the studio will order solo movies for Selina Kyle, Edward Nashton (not Nygma in this version) and Oswald Cobblepot. Furthermore, it’s said that key players in both The Batman and Birds of Prey have options in their contracts for sequels and standalones.
You can speculate that the popularity of Joker is feeding into WB’s desire to make more solo films for other Batman foes. Though, of course, Joaquin Phoenix’s $1 billion arthouse blockbuster is set in its own world and these projects would be directly tied into The Batman‘s universe. This presumably means we shouldn’t expect as bold a flavor from these potential productions as Joker, but maybe greater interconnectivity.
If you’ll recall, We Got This Covered was actually the first outlet to tell you that Kravitz could get her own movie as Catwoman, which would be the first time such a thing has been attempted since 2004’s disastrous Halle Berry offering. Dano and Farrell’s interpretations of the Riddler and Penguin, meanwhile, are the first cinematic portrayals of these characters since Jim Carrey in 1995’s Batman Forever and Danny DeVito in 1992’s Batman Returns.
The Batman starts shooting next year, but we won’t get to see it until June 2021. So, don’t expect any concrete news on these spinoffs for quite some time, but once Reeves’ pic hits theaters, we imagine the floodgates will open.
