The Batman is only now opening in theaters (finally), but star Robert Pattinson is already spilling some possible secrets about which DC villains could be showing up in the sequel: The Court of Owls. Pattinson and the rest of The Batman cast (Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano) were doing an interview where they took on some DC fan theories about The Batman – and that’s where Pattinson may have let the cat out of the bag (no pun) regarding what he, director Matt Reeves, and Warner Bros. are thinking about for The Batman Sequel!
Videos by ComicBook.com
“I was definitely thinking Court of Owls is probably gonna be in the sequel,” Pattinson said outright during his Vanity Fair segment. “It definitely seems like– I mean, I am literally just guessing, I just keep saying it.”
The Court of Owls in The Batman Universe
DC Comics introduced The Court of Owls by the Batman comics creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, back in 2011. The clandestine organization was retconned into Batman lore as the true power behind Gotham City. The Court was made up of some of the most wealthy and powerful figures and families in Gotham, who built a secret world into the very foundations of Gotham’s architecture right from the start. Over time the Court of Owls has maintained both secrecy and power by creating and training undead assassins called “Talons” that help guide the course of Gotham’s development. Subsequent stories revealed that the Court of Owls was actually part of a larger international group, the Parliament of Owls, though Batman and the Bat-Family eventually reduced the group back down to a single, surviving cell. The Court of Owls is set to be the major villain in the upcoming video game Gotham Knights, as well.
Without spoilers, much of what director Matt Reeves explores in the story of The Batman has to do with Gotham City’s past, and the structures of wealth and power that shaped it. Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is forced to confront some things about Gotham and the Wayne family that he never expected – with reveals that may challenge some DC fans who are particular about Batman lore.
That all (kind of) said, Matt Reeves has definitely built a version of Gotham City where it feels like The Court of Owls would be right at home – as well as their frightening Talon assassins. Whether or not Reeves would tap into all of the Court’s weird occult mysticism remains to be seen, but he’s already set the stage for the group to be a slow-burn reveal in the Batman franchise before The Batman 2 ever arrives.
Colin Farrel’s Penguin spinoff series on HBO Max will track the villain going from gangster henchman to crimelord – a journey that presumably could go through the Court. The proposed Gotham P.D. spinoff could easily see Gotham’s cops investigating a case that the Court ultimately prevents them from solving – making the case to the police why Batman is a necessary ally.
