Although Paul Dano’s Edward Nashton, a.k.a. The Riddler, initially made a name for himself in The Batman as a serial killer targeting Gotham’s elite, by the end of the movie, he’d gain significantly more notoriety by flooding the city after blowing up it seawall, and then having his followers attempt to assassinate mayor elect Bella Reál. Although Robert Pattinson’s Batman managed to save Reál, Gotham was left devastated by the flooding, which factored into the events of The Penguin and will continue to be explored in 2026’s The Batman: Part II. On that note, director and writer Matt Reeves shared how this version of the Caped Crusader will struggle in the upcoming DC movie following Riddler’s attack
During The Batman’s ending, Bruce Wayne realized it wasn’t enough to simply strike fear into the hearts of criminals; his costumed persona also needed to inspire hope among the citizens he was protecting. He seemed to get off to a good start doing that, but as Reeves informed Digital Spy, all the destruction Riddler wreaked will lead Bruce to grapple with his views on justice. The filmmaker started off by saying:
There's a lot of unrest and there's a lot of clamouring because of the revelations of what we find out at the end of the [first] movie. There's unrest in the streets to say, 'Well, how could this be?'. The idea that this corruption extends as deep as it extends. In the first movie, Batman views things very simplistically, he sees things in black and white. What he can represent and how he can affect that.
Individuals like Mayor Don Mitchell Jr., Commissioner Pete Savage and crime boss Carmine Falcone, were killed by Riddler in The Batman as part of his mission to expose how Gotham City was festering with corruption and greed. It showed Batman that there was more to fighting for justice in the city beyond just beating up criminals, as there are some problems that can’t be solved with fists. That doesn’t condone Riddler flooding Gotham, but it will force Bruce to look at what’s happening in his city, and by extension his crimefighting crusade, with a more nuanced perspective. Matt Reeves continued:
As we enter into the next movie, there's a lot more grey. There's a lot more people at odds. There’s a lot more division in the city. It's a lot more like our world is now, there's a lot of turmoil because people are in their camps and they're not communicating. How does Batman fit into that? Where do you fit? It's not as clear as going, 'Oh yeah, bad guy, I go after bad guys'. And when things are in grey, it makes it very hard to be Batman, so this is part of the challenge as we enter it.
It’s good to know everything that went down in The Batman won’t all be fixed by the time The Batman: Part II starts, and that Bruce Wayne will need to adjust the way he looks at the world in order to more effectively combat Gotham’s dark forces. Matt Reeves also mentioned that the chaos that unfolded in the streets during The Penguin will also “build into the conflict” of the sequel. The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc previously said that Batman didn’t appear in the HBO series because this a “big city,” and also because the superhero doesn’t think Colin Farrell’s Oz is “really worth paying attention to.”
The Batman: Part II doesn’t arrive in theaters until October 2, 2026, but it’s likely 2025 will bring some major updates regarding what to expect from the sequel, including hopefully learning if Barry Keoghan’s Joker will indeed factor into the plot. For now, remember that both The Batman and The Penguin can be streamed with a Max subscription.
