The Batman Sequel Details Allegedly Revealed By The Riddler
After years of waiting, DC fans have finally been able to visit Matt Reeves' grimy version of Gotham City in 2022's "The Batman," starring Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader himself. The story sees him go up against the Riddler (Paul Dano) as the sadistic criminal wages war on the systemic corruption in the Mayor's Office, as well as the Gotham City Police Department. The Dark Knight works with Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) to figure out what the Riddler has planned for the rest of the city. It's been a hit with fans so far, earning itself a positive 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
And the new movie raked in a healthy profit during its opening weekend, earning $128.5 million in North America (via Box Office Mojo), which should hopefully give Warner Bros. the incentive to bring Reeves, Pattinson, Kravitz, and Wright back for a sequel. Plus, the introduction of Arkham Asylum and another iconic Batman character means there's plenty of scope for exploring this grim new corner of the DC universe a little further. There's already been talk of the "Penguin" spin-off series for HBO Max, as well as a currently untitled Arkham Asylum show in the works for the streaming service — so the studio is clearly impressed with Reeves' vision.
The director has already suggested that he's got a few ideas for a grounded version of Mr. Freeze, but it looks like the Riddler himself has revealed details about the "Batman" sequel.
The Batman website teases something is coming
As fans who have already seen "The Batman" will know, the caped crusader deals with a mysterious figure in Gotham known only as "el rata alada" — the rat with wings. This person is the anonymous informant who helped bring down former crime boss Sal Maroni, and they're at the heart of the Riddler's sprawling mystery, so much so that he uses a website – rataalada.com – to taunt Batman with more riddles. But fans quickly discovered this website is real, which gives them the opportunity to solve more riddles as part of a mysterious countdown.
The website reveals a surprising code, which has been cracked by Redditor u/vengeance22. It reads, "You think I'm finished, but perhaps you don't know the full truth. Every ending is a new beginning. Something is coming." Clearly, this implies that the Riddler isn't done toying with Batman and Gotham. There is also a list of numbers included on the website, which the Reddit post points out are references to key moments in the comics that all play into "The Batman" in some way.
All the numbers are nods toward the first appearances of Batman, James Gordon, Catwoman, the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Carmine Falcone, and Alfred. Interestingly, the final set of numbers — 258.10.19.74 — references October 1974's "Batman" #258, which sees Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, break out of Arkham Asylum. Does this mean the chaotic district attorney is coming to Gotham in the next film? It would definitely be interesting to see what terrifying version of the villain we'd get in this nightmarish version of the DC universe.