The Batman 2 Should Be A Christmas Movie

With the end of The Penguin fast approaching it means audiences are one step closer to the next installment in Matt Reeves’ DC universe, The Batman Part 2. The sequel won’t be released until 2026 but speculation is already rife about what will happen next and when the movie may take place.

The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight, who is still in the early stages of his career as the superhero. The movie pits Batman against the Riddler, who was depicted as a nefarious serial killer in Reeve’s more grounded version of Gotham City. The Batman was widely praised upon its release in 2022, maintaining an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many approving of the film’s noir aesthetic and its realistic portrayal of the DC Comics world. The Penguin has been gaining similar acclaim thanks to its depiction of the villain’s origin story through the lens of a gritty crime drama. Now all eyes are on The Batman 2 to see what happens next, but one thing that may be beneficial to the story is setting it during the Christmas season.

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Batman’s History With Holidays

Batman has a long history with important holiday dates. In both the comics, movies, and games, Batman’s stories have often taken advantage of holiday themes to introduce new villains or to raise the stakes of certain scenarios. Halloween is a particularly important time in the Batman franchise as the holiday’s association with wearing masks and inciting fear is something that could also be associated with the character of Batman.

One of the Caped Crusader’s most famous comic book runs is Batman: The Long Halloween, which sees the Dark Knight fight a villain who exclusively kills on holidays. The story actually takes advantage of multiple holiday dates throughout its run but is a great example of how different festive themes can inform a story. Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Knight is another Batman story that takes place during Halloween. Given that the themes of the story center around facing fears, with the main villain being Scarecrow, Arkham Knight takes great advantage of the Halloween aesthetic.

The Batman Takes Place During Halloween

Matt Reeves also chose to follow the Halloween path in The Batman. The movie starts on October 31st, the night of Halloween, with Bruce Wayne wading through a sea of costumed civilians. The movie shows a darker side of Halloween, with criminals taking advantage of the holiday night to blend in and wear masks while enacting their crimes. However, this is Batman’s advantage as well as he uses his mask to instill fear in Gotham’s criminals. At one point, a goon asks Batman “who the hell are you supposed to be?”, which is clearly a reference to the Halloween tradition of dressing up, but this offers the perfect opportunity to set up why Batman is different, his costume is not for one night only.

The Batman 2 Would Be An Intriguing Christmas Movie

With The Batman taking advantage of Halloween, it provides the opportunity for Matt Reeves’ franchise to start a pattern of exploring notable holiday events. The next logical holiday for this in the timeline would be Christmas and there are already hints that this is where The Batman 2 could go. In an interview with Collider, Reeves confirmed that chronologically The Penguin takes place a week after the events of The Batman, which places the timeline in November, and that it would take the series towards the end of the year. “We don’t play Christmas or New Years, but we’re getting there,” Reeves said.

This means that if The Batman is to be set shortly after the events of The Penguin, it will be the heart of winter with Gotham City likely preparing for the holiday season. The idea of seeing Reeves’ version of Gotham City in the festive season is intriguing and would likely provide audiences with a darker Christmas story, something that is the opposite of the joyous nature Christmas films are known for. Similar to Halloween’s themes of masks and fear, the Christmas season could provide The Batman with new opportunities to explore certain themes, like family or joy. There would also be plenty of chances to introduce villains that may tie thematically with this period of the year, with Mr. Freeze being a popular choice due to his affiliation with cold weather.

Similar to Halloween, the Batman franchise has taken advantage of the festive season as a setting many times before. The Batman game Arkham Origins pits Batman against eight of Gotham’s most skilled assassins on Christmas Eve. Batman Returns is another Batman film that is memorably set during Christmas, with some of the action taking place at Gotham’s Christmas-tree lighting ceremony. Given this precedent, it would be interesting to see Reeves’ grounded take on a Batman Christmas movie and how the director can use the setting and festive aesthetic to his advantage in The Batman Part 2.

The Batman: Part 2 is scheduled for release on October 2, 2026.

The Batman Part II

The Batman Part II is the sequel to Matt Reeve’s The Batman, released in 2022, and will continue where the original film left off. The film shares a universe with the HBO Max original Penguin series and sees the return of the Riddler and a different incarnation of the Joker.

Director

Matt Reeves

Writers

Matt Reeves

Franchise

Batman

Prequel

The Batman

Studio(s)

DC Studios

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