Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the closest thing to a sequel Batman: Arkham Knight fans can get, but WB's canceled Project Sabbath could've been a perfect conclusion (or evolution) of the Batman Arkham franchise. Concept art for the canceled Arkham Knight sequel recently resurfaced online, sparking debate over the quality and potential of the project. It's unlikely for WB Games to revive it, especially considering the pair of upcoming DC games, Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Unfortunately, this missed opportunity could have introduced new narratives and brought a satisfying conclusion to the Batman Arkham series.
Many fans remember Batman's explosive Knightfall Protocol ending, which featured Batman detonating bombs around Wayne Manor's property line after revealing his identity. With members of the press clamoring outside the gates for interviews and Bruce Wayne's double life effectively destroyed, fans were left speculating over the Dark Knight's survival and how Batman's legacy could continue. WB's Arkham Knight sequel could have provided a satisfying ending to the Batman Arkham series and continued its stories through Damian Wayne's Batman.
Batman's children and proteges have recently experienced a surge in popularity throughout entertainment media. Shows like Young Justice or Titans and games like Gotham Knights focused on the Batfamily as main characters, rather than the Dark Knight. With recent criticisms over DC's stagnant portrayal of Bruce Wayne and Batman, it's understandable that WB Games suggested changing optics. Batman: Arkham Knight's conclusion satisfied some lingering plot threads but failed to paint a clear picture forwards. The era of sequels, remasters, and spin-offs have conquered many entertainment media fields, but when games concluded, developers tended to secure the universe's future in some way. This ensured franchises could pursue future sequels if desired.
Batman: Arkham Knight's Cancelled Sequel Solved An Important Question
With the disappearance of Batman following the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight, neither Azazel, Red Robin, Red Hood, nor Nightwing inherit the mantle. While each pursues their own crime-fighting career, Batman's absence in Gotham invites all kinds of chaos. Additionally, Bruce Wayne's fortune, which funded various humanitarian and charity funds, remained in limbo following the billionaire's reveal. These facts left fans scrambling for answers in Arkham Knight's wake: who would become the next Batman and what would happen to Bruce Wayne's fortune? Project Sabbath could have decidedly answered both questions while advancing the narrative and timeline. Most variations of the Battle of the Cowl see Terry McGinnis or Dick Grayson inherit the cowl. However, instead of adapting the Batman Beyond storyline in Arkham Knight's sequel, Damian Wayne, son of Talia Al-Ghul and Bruce Wayne, would have likely inherited the perks of both identities.
Damian Wayne is a complicated character in the Batman mythos, and one of the latest members of the Batfamily to join DC's continuity. Talia al Ghul and Bruce Wayne's relationship endured ups and downs, with various iterations twisting the emotional connection of their rendezvous. Talia suffered an unfortunate fate in the Batman Arkham series, dying against Joker and Clayface. Thankfully, the League of Assassins has access to Lazarus Pits, as shown by Talia's empty casket in Batman: Arkham Knight. It's unknown when Bruce would have adopted Damian Wayne, but it's unlikely he would have turned his son away given the circumstances. With the loss of his secret identity, the necessity for a new Batman after Batman: Arkham Knight is vital, especially considering the national attention Bruce Wayne would have received.
Batman: Arkham Knight's Cancelled Sequel Introduced A Darker Batman
A (nearly) constant aspect of Batman's character is his refusal to kill his opponents, for better or worse. Over the years, this line of thinking has become flawed, with villains like the Joker taking advantage of his code to wreak havoc. However, the unfortunate truth behind Batman's ideologies is that his strategies offer temporary solutions. While Bruce Wayne refuses to kill, the League of Assassins raised Damian Wayne with no such restrictions. Damian Wayne's early days in the Batfamily see the heir struggle with this code, leading to heated debates between the father and son. While Batman: Arkham Knight's Red Hood DLC let players embrace a more lethal form of combat, the canceled sequel could have fleshed out these mechanics and introduced more moral dilemmas.
It's a widely accepted fact that Batman's style of crime-fighting has significant drawbacks. The rotating door at Arkham ensures enemies like Clayface, Bane, and Deathstroke can consistently break out and kill more innocents. Batman's reluctance for a permanent solution to his unrepentant villains ensures their fate of dying from natural causes and (by all accounts) living a full life. Introducing player choice when dealing with bosses and choosing between Batman's nonlethal methods and the League of Assassins' lessons could have prevented an exciting dilemma for Batman Arkham players. An upgraded Batsuit could have also introduced the opportunity for more advanced combat mechanics, tempting Damian Wayne's Batman to cross the line Bruce never could. Concept art for Damian Wayne's Batsuit implies some inspiration from Batman Beyond's Batsuit, which could have encouraged a more violent Dark Knight in future times.
Batman: Arkham Knight's Sequel Makes More Sense Than Suicide Squad
Overall, Batman: Arkham Knight's sequel would have been a better sequel than Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, due partly to the messy canon of the Suicide Squad game and the potential for other Batman projects in the universe. Recent Kill the Justice League trailers confirmed the survival of Poison Ivy, even though her body disintegrated in Batman's arms and floated away. While this isn't the first time a character thought dead was resurrected, the finality of her death makes it difficult to suspend disbelief for storytelling purposes. Additionally, the identity of Deadshot has completely changed from previous games. While Rocksteady Studios tried to convince fans that the previous Deadshot was an impostor, it's unlikely an assassin for hire would go through all the trouble to erase his DNA, fingerprints, and other traces of his identity to claim Deadshot's persona. It's even more unlikely that any attempt at Deadshot's forgery would have tricked the World's Greatest Detective.
However, the most glaring inconsistency concerns the Batman: Assault on Arkham film. While not as well-known, the animated movie served as a bridge between the Batman Arkham games. In the film, King Shark dies after Amanda Waller detonates a bomb in his head, but Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League features King Shark on the team. Batman: Arkham Knight's sequel could have served as a smoother series progression instead of scrambling to rewrite canon.
While there are many Batman Arkham references in the Suicide Squad trailers, with the former developing the in-game universe through Easter eggs, the sudden introduction of the Justice League with little build-up is a bit rattling. The timeline between Suicide Squad and Batman: Arkham Knight hasn't been revealed yet, but it's unlikely that the Justice League formed quickly after Batman's apparent demise. The canceled Batman: Arkham Knight sequel could have provided an opportunity to smoothly transition from Bruce Wayne's era as Batman to Damian Wayne's vigilante career. By satisfyingly ending Bruce Wayne's career instead of omitting him entirely from the core cast, Batman Arkham's canceled Project Sabbath would have given Batman the retirement he deserved.
Batman: Arkham Knight's canceled sequel likely won't ever see the light of day. Fans might never know WB Games' precise reasons for halting development on Project Sabbath. Still, they can at least expect two upcoming games, as if all goes according to plan, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights are both releasing at some point in 2022. Though neither Rocksteady Studios nor WB Games Montreal has confirmed specific release dates for the projects, they can fill the gap left behind by Batman: Arkham Knight.