Robert Pattinson's ‘The Batman’ Replaced by New Live-Action Universe, Sequel Canceled

The Batman-verse has been replaced by a new cinematic universe.

Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022) isn’t the only current live-action Gotham City timeline — there’s also that of Joker (2019), whose sequel Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) is just a few months away — but it’s certainly the only one that’s led by the Caped Crusader.

Other than a cameo from a young Bruce Wayne (Dante Pereira-Olson) in 2019’s Joker, the character doesn’t feature in those films (that might change in the sequel). As such, Robert Pattinson (AKA, “Battinson”) is the only live-action Bruce Wayne/Batman currently in play.

However, while the new franchise got off to a solid start with the 2022 film grossing over $1B worldwide while impressing fans and critics, recently, a spinoff television series that would have focused on Arkham Asylum (but in an earlier concept was centered around the Gotham City Police Department) was canceled.

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The reasons behind the scrapping are unknown, but luckily, The Batman isn’t going anywhere. A brand-new theatrical sequel tentatively titled The Batman Part II (TBA), which reunites director Matt Reeves and star Robert Pattinson, is in development.

However, The Batman will continue later this year with the television spinoff series The Penguin (2024), which is set for HBO and Max.

Colin Farrell reprises his role as Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, however, it remains to be seen whether any other characters, such as Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), and, of course, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Robert Pattinson), will return.

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Residing within DC’s “Elseworlds” (a collection of cinematic universes that don’t intersect with any others like the DC Universe does), The Batman stands alone. But now, that’s all set to change. While it won’t cross over with any other DC franchises, the cinematic universe has been given an official title, and more sequels and spinoffs have been announced.

Entertainment Weekly (EW) has revealed that The Batman franchise has been officially dubbed “The Batman Epic Crime Saga” by Matt Reeves and producing partner Dylan Clark, thus replacing any previous unofficial names the series was given.

Referring to the franchise as an “epic crime saga” is hardly surprising. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises) held the crown for being the most realistic Batman in film, but The Batman nabbed that title in 2022.

Interestingly, The Dark Knight (2008), which is heavily inspired by Michael Mann’s The Heat (1995), has been described as an “epic crime saga”. However, the critically acclaimed film is bookended by entries that are slightly more fantastical.

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In fact, most movies featuring the Caped Crusader feature elements of fantasy, some a lot more than others, whether it’s Tim Burton’s two films, Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), or DC Universe entries such as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

That’s not to say 2022’s The Batman is entirely realistic, but it certainly presents the most believable Gotham we’ve seen in film, with The Dark Knight trilogy‘s depiction coming in at a close second. And The Penguin is set to expand upon this new “epic crime saga”.

EW also reveals that the new television series will “bridge the gap” between the film and the sequel. “We are the bridge between the two films,” lead writer and showrunner Lauren LeFranc says. “We’re going almost directly into the second film Matt [Reeves] has planned.”

The Penguin takes place one week after the film, focusing on underworld criminal Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell) as he fills Gotham City’s “power vacuum” left by Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), who was killed by Edward Nash/The Riddler (Paul Dano) in the film.

Watch the trailer below, per Max:

The Penguin will also be the first of several television shows and movies Reeves and Clark are planning to launch off the back of the 2022 film, hence the overall franchise’s new name.

“There’s another television exploration we’re going to do,” Dylan Clark tells EW. “We’re looking at this entire world as it relates to who Batman is — the antagonists around them, all the crime that has to be navigated in the city — and trying to figure out where are the areas that are best to explore.”

The Penguin will premiere on HBO and Max in September.