As preposterous as it sounds, there were genuine concerns that Warner Bros. Discovery could end up abandoning Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe entirely, with new CEO David Zaslav tearing apart the upcoming schedule on both the big and small screen in an effort to shave billions off the balance sheet.
In the end, fans were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief when the director signed an exclusive first-look deal with the company, with a second standalone adventure for Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight at the top of the agenda. We live in a society where every major comic book adaptation is expected to earn a billion dollars, so there were some decrying The Batman for topping out at $770 million.
Not only was that a strong haul for a movie that runs for nearly three hours, but critics and audiences were left impressed enough to anoint it as the best-reviewed superhero blockbuster of the year so far, with only Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in line to potentially take the crown when it lands in November.
Perhaps in part to the celebrations caused by confirmation that The Batman 2 is definitely happening, the intensely atmospheric and wildly acclaimed reboot for the Caped Crusader has returned to the summit of HBO Max’s global most-watched charts per FlixPatrol, by virtue of securing a Top 10 spot in a mammoth 44 countries where the streaming service is available.
Colin Farrell’s HBO Max spinoff is alive and well, too, so it’s a good time to reacquaint yourself with the latest iteration of Gotham City.