Warner Bros/DCMatt Reeves has teased a never-before-seen villain for The Batman Part 2, and while fans think it’s the Court of Owls, it could (and should) be someone else entirely.
Pre-production has finally begun on Robert Pattinson’s highly anticipated sequel, with filming set to begin in spring next year ahead of the DCU’s Supergirl hitting cinemas. It’ll also start shooting alongside Man of Tomorrow, James Gunn’s Superman sequel.
So, what will it be about? Well, as Reeves told Josh Horowitz, it’ll “push even further into the character of Bruce Wayne… I never wanted to lose Rob at the center of these stories. And so that is really what we set our aim on.”
Fans have long suspected the Court of Owls could come into play in the ‘Batman Epic Crime Saga’, but there’s another underrated character from the caped crusader’s rogues’ gallery who could show up first.
The Batman Part 2 should be a Hush story
DCHere’s the basics: the Court of Owls is a secret criminal society that was first introduced in Scott Snyder’s 2012 Batman run (Vol. 2 #6, specifically). They wield immeasurable control over Gotham, even employing assassins (known as Talons) to carry out their dirty work.
Given The Batman’s focus on corruption within the city (something carried over into The Penguin), they’re the natural pick for a big bad. That’s exactly why Part 2 should only tease them and instead focus on Hush, a villain with a more personal connection to Batman.
“Picking the right villain that digs into what that does, that goes into his past and his life, that was what drove that discussion,” Reeves teased.
“I won’t tell you where we ended up, but we’re super excited about it. And I will say it’s never really been done in a movie before. So we’re excited.”
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Firstly, Hush has never been adapted for a live-action movie. Secondly, his origins are directly tied to Batman – or, more accurately, Bruce Wayne.
Hush, real name Thomas Elliot, is a dark mirror to Batman. Long before he assumed his supervillain identity, he was Bruce’s childhood friend. He came from a wealthy family, and he was well-educated, but he was abused by his father.
When he tried to kill his parents, Bruce’s father saved Hush’s mother. Things got a lot worse after that, especially when Bruce inherited the Wayne fortune after his parents were murdered. That’s about as much as I’m willing to tell you, but he could be a formidable, scary villain – and he lines up with what Reeves wants to accomplish.
Also, Reeves has mentioned Hush before. “I think Hush is a really interesting one to do. I’ll choose Hush. That doesn’t mean that the next [movie villain] will be Hush. I just want to say, there are so many,” he told Twitter Movies when asked who he’d like to include in his Batman universe.
Make sure you read why Robert Pattinson should be the DCU’s Batman and keep tabs on what’s coming with our guide to every upcoming DCU and Elseworlds project.