The Batman 2 fan art imagines a harsh winter in Gotham City following the Riddler's flooding in the first movie. Matt Reeves' The Batman earned positive reviews from fans and critics upon its release in theaters earlier this year. The film saw Robert Pattinson take on the role of the Caped Crusader and face off against Paul Dano's Riddler. The Batman was praised for Pattison's strong leading performance and for Reeves' depiction of a gritty, noir-inspired Gotham City. Although no firm release date has been set, it has been confirmed that Reeves and Pattinson will team up again for The Batman 2.
Despite details on the sequel being hard to come by, new The Batman 2 fan art posted to Instagram by artist Jaxson Derr (@jaxsonderr) imagines Gotham City experiencing a particularly rough winter. In addition to featuring Robert Pattinson's Batman, The Batman 2 fan art depicts a snow-covered Gotham with plenty of dangerous ice after Riddler bombs the seawall. Derr also shares his ideas for the sequel in the caption, imagining Gotham plunged into chaos after being abandoned by the National Guard. Check out the impressive fan art below:
How The Batman's Ending Sets Up A Sequel
The Riddler may be behind bars at the end of The Batman, but the film still sets up potential struggles for the Caped Crusader moving forward. The end of the movie saw Batman embrace his role as a source of justice and hope in Gotham City rather than a source of fear, but the Riddler's plan still partially succeeded. The city remains flooded at the end of The Batman, and Pattinson's Bruce Wayne commits to helping with the clean-up, but, as highlighted by Derr's fan art, Gotham City experiencing what is essentially a natural disaster creates a situation that allows for the rise of new villains.
It's unclear who the villain will be in The Batman 2, but the Joker tease with Barry Keoghan in the first film suggests that the Clown Prince of Crime is a likely candidate. From what little was shown off in the movie and a later-released deleted scene, Keoghan's take on the character is very different from what audiences have seen on screen before. The deleted scene imagines that Joker and Batman have a pre-existing history, which could make for an interesting dynamic in the sequel. Of course, it's also possible that a new villain emerges from the chaos following the Riddler's scheme, with Mr. Freeze potentially being a strong candidate.
Many questions remain about The Batman 2, but setting the film during the winter immediately following the first movie would create an interesting opportunity to explore the consequences of the Riddler's actions while also testing Batman in new ways. The last Batman movie to feature a winter setting was 2012's somewhat divisive The Dark Knight Rises, which used the icy river around Gotham to chilling effect. Reeves' take on The Batman universe is obviously very different from Christopher Nolan's, but exploring winter's impact on a flooded version of Gotham City could take what Nolan did to the next level and show audiences a version of the setting and character that they've never seen before.
Source: Jaxson Derr (@jaxsonderr)/ Instagram
