Recent developments in the entertainment industry highlight Colin Farrell’s highly praised performance in the newly released “The Penguin” series on Max. Attention has now turned to “The Batman” director Matt Reeves to reveal which iconic villains from Batman’s rogues’ gallery might be featured next. While Reeves remains cautious about revealing specifics, he has shared some insights regarding his vision for future Batman projects.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly (EW), Reeves discussed how the Batman Epic Crime Saga aims to expose the darker aspects of the American Dream that have corrupted Gotham City. According to EW, the tone of this storytelling is already evident in “The Penguin,” where Oz Cobb’s ascent to power mirrors that of Tony Montana in “Scarface,” but with a touch of HBO’s Tony Soprano’s style.
“If you watch the whole thing, it is an epic narrative and a meditation on the corruption and why Gotham is the way it is,” Reeves told EW. “What’s exciting about other potential shows is exploring new directions that weren’t possible with ‘The Penguin’ and ‘The Batman’.”
As with many projects from Warner Bros. Discovery, the continuation and expansion of Reeves’ Batman universe hinge on the reception of “The Penguin” and the company’s decision to either proceed with or scrap other DC-centric projects.
Reeves also provided a significant revelation about his influences, which might hint at which villains could appear in his movies. Reeves’ approach to directing “The Batman” was notably influenced by Jeph Loeb, his college screenwriting professor at the University of Southern California and the writer behind seminal Batman comics such as “The Long Halloween,” “Hush,” “Dark Victory,” and “Haunted Knight.”
“I could see that they had such a cinematic sensibility,” Reeves said of Loeb’s Batman comics. “I saw it as a ‘Godfather’-esque narrative within the Batman universe. I understood that vision.”
Reeves’ cinematic influences do not provide concrete predictions about future villains like the Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, or Joker making appearances, but they do offer more information than previously available before his EW interview.
EW also reported that the script for “The Batman II” is complete, with filming expected to begin next year.