The Batman Part II: Matt Reeves Explains Grounded Gotham

The Batman Part II director Matt Reeves explained how the sequel is keeping Gotham “grounded.” SFX Magazine caught up with the filmmaker as they turn the corner on making the script for DC’s upcoming blockbuster. Robert Pattinson’s debut in the cowl made big waves a few years ago. Now, Reeves is seeing all the fan speculation about villains for The Batman Part II. While something like Gentleman Ghost would obviously be cool, it doesn’t really fit his vision for Gotham City as a grounded place. So, while things can get a little wild, don’t expect some f the kookier elements of Batman’s rogue’s gallery to make appearances in this corner of the DC multiverse.

Reeves began, “What was important to me was to find a way to take these pop icons, these mythic characters that everybody knows and translate it so that Gotham feels like a place in our world.” The director says that these movies and their accompanying series get “to the edge of fantastical but we would never go into full fantastical. It’s meant to feel quite grounded.”

“It doesn’t mean that you won’t see characters that people love. That’s exactly what we want to do,” the filmmaker explained. “Gentleman Ghost is probably pushed a bit too far for us to be able to find a way to do, but there is a fun way to think about how we would take characters that might push over into a bit of the fantastical and find a way to make sense of that.”

How Does The Penguin Roll Into The Batman Part II?

The Penguin is poised to bridge the gap between The Batman and the upcoming sequel. Max and HBO are excited to bring the villain’s story into the spotlight. Reeves offered some quick teases on how these projects connect in the same interview. He even says Colin Farrell’s bad guy will be a presence in The Batman Part II.

Reeves mused, “There are details that actually connect right into the way the next movie begins, and the way that Oz enters that world as we hand the baton back to Batman, and Batman is on another case.” 

The director went even further, teasing how The Batman Part II was “going to dig into the epic story about deeper corruption, and it goes into places that he couldn’t anticipate in the first one,” Reeves argued. “The seeds of where this goes are all in the first movie, and it expands in a way that will show you aspects of the character you never got to see. Batman is constantly battling these forces. But those forces can’t be entirely exorcised. So the next movie delves deeper into that.”

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