Robert Pattinson says the ending of his little Batman movie sets up a sequel
For his part, Pattinson seems pretty shocked they’re going to be making sequels to the 10th live-action Batman movie
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We’re roughly a month away from the latest incarnation of the Caped Crusader’s big-screen debut. The 10th live-action version of the character, The Batman, is one of the most anticipated films of the year and is most certainly Warner Bros.’ most significant franchise opportunity in some time. Heck, they’ve already given Colin Farrell’s Penguin his own TV series.
But while we’re already expecting a whole series of Pattinson-led Batman movies, the actor was a little surprised to see some sequel teases in the film. Not that he’s totally unaware that he’s in one of the biggest movies of the year, but rather because of how tonally different the movie is from what came before.
“When I saw it the first time, even from the first shot, it does feel incredibly different, tonally, to the other movies,” Pattinson said in an interview with Total Film. “And it’s so strange, and kind of… It’s sad, and quite touching. It’s a really, really unusual Batman story, and it almost seems harder for me to imagine it being a series afterwards. I mean, they always have that little bit at the end, that’s like: ‘…and coming up!’ But other than that, it feels strangely personal. I think people will be quite shocked at how different it is.”
Sequels to The Batman feel like a foregone conclusion at this point. What good is a Batman movie without several Batman movies to legitimize it? Still, Pattinson wouldn’t be the first to be surprised that his Batman movie is getting a sequel. Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012 that his infamous Joker-card sequel tease in Batman Begins wasn’t intended to set up the next movie—even though it did.
“It wasn’t really about setting up a sequel,” Nolan said. “I wanted [the audience] to leave the theater with their minds just spinning. Batman has arrived. That was always the snap of the ending. It wasn’t really until months after the film came out that I said, ‘OK, now I want to know who the Joker is.’”
Meanwhile, people keep teasing that this leads toward a future where Pattinson’s Batman squares off against Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker. Those rumors will persist, despite no official word that sequel to Todd Philips’ Oscar-winning remake of Taxi Driver is moving forward. Perhaps the greatest joke the Joker ever told was that a Joker sequel was in the works. Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
64 Comments
10th? So are we not counting the 1966 Adam West Batman film, or Justice League. Please say Justice League.
They better count Batman ‘66, considering it has the best scene in the entire bat-canon:
Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb. You have to give Zack Snyder $70 million to do a director’s cut of it instead.
They might as well count Batpussy too because it has the best bat vehicle.
Ten would include both of them. You may be suppressing the memory of Batman v. Superman.
I was including Batman v Superman.By my count, The Batman is film #11.The previous 10 include the 1966 Adam West film, the 4 Burton/Schumacher films, the Nolan Trilogy, BvS, and Justice League.And come to think of it, Batman was also in Suicide Squad, though I can see leaving that off, for various reasons.
“and Justice League”
That’s not a Batman movie. Know how I know? BECAUSE IT’S CALLED JUSTICE LEAGUE.
Jesus, get a fucking brain, stupid.
My mistake! Then I think Justice League would be the one to leave off, since you can call it an ensemble picture. Age of Ultron has plenty of Thor, but no one calls it a Thor movie.
I don’t think Tim Burton’s Batman movie ended on a note teasing a sequel. Nor do I think Joaquin Phoenix would have been interested in a sequel. Has he ever been in any sequel?
Looked at his IMDB entry, no sequels as far as I can tell, although it includes Joker 2 as “announced.”
that doesn’t necessarily mean a sequel. Every single movie featuring Batman could/should have a similar ending (except The Dark Knight Rises) where it shows he’s still out there fighting crime in a general sense. Still one of my favorite scenes ever.
Phoenix stated, “I can’t stop thinking about it … if there’s something else we can do with Joker that might be interesting,” and concluded, “It’s nothing that I really wanted to do prior to working on this movie. I don’t know that there is [more to do] … Because it seemed endless, the possibilities of where we can go with the character.”Seems like he’d be interested with the right script
instead of ripping off Taxi Driver they can rip off Fat City for a sequel. Make it really downbeat.
You didn’t see The Master 2: The Secret of Lancaster’s Gold?
There’s that scene at the end where Billy Dee Williams flips a coin and while its in the air, asks “Will I be in any of the sequels?” and then the coin falls into a storm drain.
They were *this* close to ‘Gladiator 2: Commodus Returns!’, but there was a scheduling clash.
The Batsignal ending is an obvious tease for future movies.
Signs 2: Sign Harder.
Shyamalan made a couple sequels recently, so let’s not give him any ideas.
When are we getting a Walk Hard sequel?!
I may be wildly misremembering things … but wasn’t Phoenix seriously considered for the role of Dr. Strange? Thinking of Phoenix showing up and method-acting for 12 years in the MCU is kind of wild …
I’m guessing it just ends with Pattinson turning his head towards the camera, it freezeframes, then “TO BE CONTINUED!” flashes on the screen.
Batman also gives a bug thumbs up just before it freezes.
Actually the ending is Batman walking out of the court house after the Riddler is sentence to life in prison. He pumps his fist in the air and “Don’t You (forget about me)“ starts playing
Spoilers: The film ends with Riddler slowly swimming away from batman. Batman goes to catch him, but Gordon lightly holds him back saying “Oh I wouldn’t worry, I’m sure we’ll see him again. In movie after movie, each more sexy than the last”
Nolan’s statement on the Joker card is over the line into denial of reality. Pattinson’s just sounds kind of typical for his “I’m not really a part of the industry I am a huge part of” thing (that many movie stars do). If he faces off against Phoenix I definitely trust Reeves with that (or ahem James Gunn) more than Todd Phillips.Also, I’ve long felt that the “trilogy” model stinks and the best one is often the one in the middle, partly because the source material for so many of these were the old timey serials that had no end. Forcing character deaths and everything instead of the Xteenth roundup for a revolving-door Arkham Asylum is just insisting on a dramatic IMPORTANCE that isn’t really necessary (eventually the downfall of Nolan’s Batman series). >coughhaveJAmesGuNndothePatTinSOnPhoeNIXmovieACHOO<
Eh, I could see how the Joker card was simply meant to say “and his adventure continues, this world lives on” even if he never got the sequel. Could just be age. I find myself feeling less and less cynical these days.
Also, didn’t the movie end with a bunch of Arkham inmates being dosed with the crazy-gas and set free, suggesting they would become Batman’s classic larger-than-life villains?
That seems more like someone’s headcanon than something overtly suggested by the film.
Yeah, and it’s right out of the end of the BATMAN: YEAR ONE comic, which was one of the three big influences/sources for BATMAN BEGINS (Flass and Loeb come from the comic, albeit with very different looks).
Actually, Nolan was telling the truth about the Joker card. The ending is taken straight from Batman Year One by Frank Miller which was conceived as a way to let readers know that the Batman they just saw “begin” was going on to live his iconic adventures, including facing the Joker.Plus, you must remember that in 2005 sequels were not a given thing, and that Nolan’s Batman could have easily been a failure. The ending doesn’t tease a sequel per se, it just reassures you about the future of the character in-universe (like the comic did). Having said this, it’s obvious that everyone was hoping on a successful film and a chance of doing a sequel potentially featuring the Joker
Nolan also trolled audiences after The Dark Knight came out, where he ended the movie on a massive cliffhanger and then kept giving interviews where he was like “I never planned on making a third Batman movie… my focus has been on Inception.”
that I can believe: the third batman movie stinks and definitely doesn’t feel premeditated 😀
A comic book movie with a setup for a sequel? This is a laughable idea, and I raise my eyebrow at ANYONE who would suggest such a thing.
I like all those movies where the credits end, there’s a moment of black, and then the star reappears and says, “There won’t be a sequel. Go home.”
“The Batman WILL NOT return.”
I was gonna say that means Batman doesn’t die in this one, but then again, it wouldn’t be the first time they needlessly kill off one the main guy and then spend the next half of the next movie reviving him.
They can make a sequel to anything. Anyone who’s seen Takashi Miike’s first Dead or Alive film from 1999 might wonder how you could make a sequel to that given how it ended but it’s got not just one but two sequels.
But while we’re already expecting a whole series of Pattinson-led Batman movies, the actor was a little surprised to see some sequel teases in the film.
Wouldn’t the possibility of sequels be in his contract? Pattinson likes to mess with journalists and fans a bit (after what he went through with the Twilight series I think he’s earned the right to punk people) so I think he may be being playful here.
lying about obvious stuff in his contract = playful
It makes me love Pattinson all the more that he loves to tease people during interviews. After twilight, he really has to. Those movies moved him to a bigger house, but they must have been crushing boring to make and promote.
DC Comics FOREVER, Marvel NEVER.
This is like still debating whether modernism or postmodernism is better. The argument was over years ago and it doesn’t matter anymore.
Meanwhile, people keep teasing that this leads toward a future where Pattinson’s Batman squares off against Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker. Those rumors will persist, despite no official word that sequel to Todd Philips’ Oscar-winning remake of Taxi Driver is moving forward. Perhaps the greatest joke the Joker ever told was that a Joker sequel was in the works. Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.Nice closing paragraph, Matt.
Man goes to doctor. Says he’s depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, “Treatment is simple. Great writer Matt Schimkowitz writes for AV Club. Read his articles. That should pick you up.” Man burst into tears. Says, “But doctor … I am Schimkowitz.”
This is some weird fan fiction, but ok.
ugh. just UGH
A Batman sequel? That’s crazy talk, it’ll never happen.
*Post credits scene. Police part to let the Batman enter a dark room, spattered with red. The Batman kneels down and dips a finger into a pool of the red substance. He looks at it for a moment, then sniffs at it*THE BATMAN: Ketchup…And thus they set up the definitive cinematic take on famed Batman villain, the Condiment King.
This, please.
I had a friend in college who came up with a story about a killer named “Mikey Toothpicks” that would be longer and more elaborate the more inebriated he got, and it always ended with a toothpick found on the victim’s body. I think I have the perfect villain to complete your Batman. Batman: In The Land Of The Condiment King.
Batman isn’t a renewable resource, and Warner Bros. is fast approaching peak Batman.
I doubt it. They’ll keep makin’ em for hundreds of years.
For the good of the studio and the cinema environment they need to move on to more sustainable alternative super hero source material like Swamp Thing and Green Lantern.
Sure, and marvel will move on from spiderman right
As Marvel should! It is time for the amazing friends Firestar and Iceman to have their day.
tbf this is Batman. There’s no telling whether the next film will be a sequel or another goddamn reboot.
Tune in next time!Same Bat Time!Same Bat Channel!
I doubt Batman will ever appear on film after this movie, it just won’t happen. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.
I feel like I don’t believe Nolan’s answer whatsoever. It ended with “oh no Batman, all of the worst criminals are on the loose including the literal calling card of who is traditionally your arch nemesis!”.
Batman dies at the end of this one.
I love Patterson and this looks decent but are people really clamoring for more solo Batman?
You’re mixing villains at the end, there.