Robert Pattinson will return as the Caped Crusader in a sequel to The Batman, currently the highest-grossing film of 2022.
Warner Bros chief Toby Emmerich made the announcement on Tuesday at CinemaCon, the annual trade show for cinema owners being held this year in Las Vegas.
“Matt Reeves, Rob Pattinson and the entire team will be taking audiences back to Gotham with The Batman 2," Emmerich said.
Reeves, who also attended the event, said he was "excited to jump back in for another chapter".
Released in March, Reeves' take on the superhero tale has been a critical and commercial success. In the film, Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is hot on the heels of sadistic killer the Riddler, played by Paul Dano. In the process, Wayne unravels his family's own tragic history.
Critics have heaped praise on Pattinson's portrayal, as well as other cast members including Zoe Kravitz, who plays Catwoman, Colin Farrell who plays the Penguin and Andy Serkis who stars as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s butler and mentor.
“The success of The Batman was a true team effort. We could not have gotten to this place without the theatrical experience," Reeves said at CinemaCon. "For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As a lifelong fan of the movies, I treasure what you do. There’s a sanctuary to be found in the movies.”
In an interview with The National ahead of The Batman's release, Pattinson said the film's script "read so differently".
“Bruce is really struggling, and he’s not a comfortable person to be around, even when he’s not Batman. In all the other movies, he has complete control of the delineation of when he's Bruce in public, when he's Bruce in private, and when he's Batman. He can just change at will," he said. "Whereas in this film, he's basically Batman the whole time. In a way, he's just let Bruce disappear.”
Despite the release date being twice delayed owing to the coronavirus pandemic, The Batman has so far grossed more than $759 million at the global box office since its release in March. Two spin-off TV series are already in development for HBO Max, one focusing on Farrell's Penguin and the other on Arkham Asylum, the fictional psychiatric hospital and prison in the comic book series whose inmates often become Batman's adversaries.
Scroll through the gallery below for all the 12 Batman movies ranked from worst to best:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
