The Batman is finally about to hit streaming, much to the delight of DC fans everywhere. It was a long and winding journey to the screen for the Dark Knight’s latest solo outing, having initially been developed by Ben Affleck before he handed the reins to Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves, who in turn cast Robert Pattinson as the latest incarnation of the Caped Crusader. Thankfully, after all that, the movie received rave reviews and has been labeled as one of the best Bat-films ever.
The combination of the long wait, the hype, and the good press ensured that the film went down as a major winner at the box office. But while millions already caught the movie — maybe more than once — on the big screen, fans can’t wait for the opportunity to see Pattinson’s big debut as Bruce Wayne again from the comfort of their own homes.
Despite it being their release strategy throughout 2021, Warner Bros. elected not to continue its practice of dropping movies on streaming the same day they entered cinemas into this year, which is why The Batman didn’t hit HBO Max back in March. Thankfully, the studio’s new system for 2022 means that WB’s films still don’t take all that long to make it to streaming. Here’s everything you need to know about when The Batman lands on HBO Max.
When will The Batman stream on HBO Max?
For 2021, Warner Bros. is dropping its movies on streaming after 45 days of exclusively showing them in theaters. Specifically, outgoing WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar confirmed on the Recode podcast last December that “The Batman‘s going to show up on day 46 on HBO Max.” Sure enough, following the film entering cinemas on March 4, it has now been officially confirmed that The Batman will be making its HBO Max debut on Monday, April 18.
For those living somewhere where HBO Max is operational, that means you have just one week to wait to watch The Batman at your leisure on streaming. Unfortunately, the WB platform still isn’t available everywhere, which means that those without access to HBO Max will have to wait a while longer for the film to go up on digital to rent or buy. Looking at other recent examples, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, we can estimate that The Batman will launch on VOD in either June or July.
Once The Batman ends up on HBO Max, it’ll mark the beginning of the Batverse’s major impact on the service. Reeves is planning on massively expanding the franchise on streaming, with three spinoff TV series already confirmed. One is based around the Gotham Police Department, another will star Colin Farrell’s Penguin, and the third focuses on Arkham Asylum. As for the future of the movies, Pattinson has teased that he and Reeves have discussed doing a trilogy together.
Don’t miss The Batman when it swoops onto streaming later this April.