WMG / The Batman (2022)

The Joker will have some kind of role in the film.

Those goons Bats encounters in the trailer are wearing white makeup and one guy has smile lines drawn on his face. It's pretty obvious who these guys work for. Now, I don't expect Joker to show up in person, but maybe Bats suspects him of being the "secret friend" and goes hunting for info on him at one point.

• If anything I'd wager he appears or is alluded to near the end of the film as a Sequel Hook similar to Batman Begins.
• Confirmed. You should try the lottery.
• Maybe in a Plot Twist or as an Unexpected Character of a sort, he'll appear. At the film's Darkest Hour, suddenly the Joker appears to help Batman fight the Riddler or at the very least give him what he needs to do so. The reason will obviously be because the Joker feels he's the only one allowed to kill or annoy Batman and he's sick of the Riddler taking the spotlight. Which will likely lead to that Sequel Hook where he promises after they're done, they can have some fun.
• It could also be that Batman has already put him away (for now), and the clownish gang is partly made up of leftovers from his own.
• Or he'll confront a gang at the chemical factory at the end, one will fall into the vat, setting up for a comic-accurate Joker to set up the sequel.
• He could be the mystery character that Barry Keoghan is playing.
  • Confirmed, Barry does indeed play the Joker in the final scene.

Piggybacking on the above theory: Should the Joker appear, this incarnation will be a woman.

It will be fun to shake up the Joker mythos once in a while and pull a Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

• Jossed, he’s still played by a man.

The continuity of this film will eventually coalesce into the DC Extended Universe

While the plan seems to be to do a standalone film trilogy, WB is clearly setting Robert Pattinson up to play the role for quite some time, and the DCEU likely can't go on without a Batman forever. While there is likely no rush to get there, it seems like this iteration of the character will inevitably run into the Justice League.

• Perhaps they'll eventually have a Crisis that merges Earth-DCEU and Earth-Battinson.
  • Isn't the Flash movie still supposed to be based on Flashpoint?...
• Ben Affleck is coming back in The Flash. Time will tell what happens after the events of that film as far as his Batman is concerned.
• Matt Reeves is adamant about this continuity being his own without crossovers with any other so it's unlikely.

Near the end of the film Bruce will allude to going Haley's circus.

If so the sequel would then focus on Robin's origin.

• Jossed.

Bruce will refer to his Batman persona as "an underdone potato"

As a reference to Batman: Ego, which itself was referencing A Christmas Carol.

• Jossed.

The Riddler is a Well-Intentioned Extremist.

Edward’s killing spree will be part of some twisted campaign to clean up corruption within Gotham, primarily targeting dirty politicians and other corrupt officials. This will make him something of an Evil Counterpart or Foil to Batman, as they both seek to combat crime and injustice using radically different methods.

• He could also be a follower or right-hand man for the Joker, and his murdering of high ranking officials could be seen in a more twisted vigilante way.
• His victims might be members of the Court of Owls.

• Partially Confirmed, Riddler is targeting dirty politicians and corrupt officials in the film proper, however when he floods Gotham it doesn't seem to matter who gets caught in the crossfire.

The film will be a Decon-Recon Switch

The movie will likely be the most realistic Batman movie to date, portraying how all this tech and brutality Batman brings to crimefighting are extremely cumbersome and unhelpful. In fact, if the theory that his bat symbol is made from the gun that killed his parents is true, the story will likely explore what happens when this Batman who started his vigilantism to vent his anger and find his parents' killer finally achieves his goal and no longer has an excuse for beating the shit out of criminals like he does. The Reconstruction switch comes when he decides to actually be a hero with his war against crime and all those gadgets that were once overblown and inappropriate for what seems to be a neo-noir thriller now have a purpose and they miraculously work now that someone like the Riddler is attacking Gotham.

Batman will inspire Selina to upgrade

That's how it happened in Batman: Year One. Flashy vigilantes and villains become rampant in her city, so Selina decides the smart thing to do is adapt. She gets a better costume, better gadgets, and embraces the identity of Catwoman.

• Jossed as far as the movie is concerned. Could apply to further installments shall they get made.

Neither Selina nor Edward will be referred to by their codenames

Which can be justified since the film will explore their transformations into their comic personas. Heck, maybe they won't embrace their names until the sequel (which would help solidify this film as the first chapter of a larger narrative).

• The official LEGO sets seem to go for this in regards to Selina, but unless Edward isn't The Riddler, he is called by his villain name.
• Seemingly Jossed. Someone in the main trailer calls Edward The Riddler.
• Confirmed and Jossed. Catwoman isn’t referred to as Catwoman, but the Riddler refers to himself as the Riddler.

The Duct Tape Killer actually isn’t Riddler.

It’ll turn out that while Riddler is leaving the clues and riddles at the crime scenes, that’s because he figured out who the real killer is, and is turning the investigation and murder spree into a game and challenge between him and Batman, with his own main agenda going on separately from the Duct Tape Killer. It’s the ultimate way to prove his superiority over Batman, to have solved a murder case before the hero, and to taunt him and manipulate him with the information... and it allows the whodunnit nature of the film to remain, instead of it being “wait for Paul Dano to show up on screen, because they already announced him as Riddler and he’s clearly voicing the Riddler too.”

• Jossed. The duct tape killer is the Riddler.

Potential villains for the sequels

• The Joker, obviously.
  • His cameo at the end seems to confirm this.
• Garfield Lynns/Firefly: Lynns will be an arsonist with a history of murdering women who reject him in favor of other men who gets hired by and given his Firefly equipment by the Big Bad.
• Arnold Wesker/Ventriloquist: Now this would be an interesting character to see Reeves' reinvent. He could make Wesker into a truly disturbing individual who uses twisted methods to control the gangsters of Gotham on behalf of "Scarface".
• Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy: Ivy will be reimagined as a "black widow" who seduces wealthy men and women and then kills them with plant toxins so she can run off with all their money while destroying the elite of Gotham who she blames for destroying nearby forests. She won't have any powers.
  • Alternatively, an eco-terrorist whose mental illness causes her to value plants over human lives, and is gladly willing to kill and endanger innocents in order to ensure the safety of her babies. She'll commit acts of terrorism like blowing up a factory that's polluting the air, or murdering the head of a logging company to send a message. Again, she won't have any powers.
• Lonnie Machin/Anarky: A Truer to the Text version of the character, whose views won't just be written off as crazy or reduced to "He has no morals and likes to do bad stuff". He'll be a teenager who believes Batman doesn't go far enough in his methods, and becomes Anarky to battle who he considers the true villains of Gotham, such as the rich elites and those who enforce their rule, such as the police and bought out politicians.
  • Anarky as the Big Bad could pose a problem, namely that he'd be redundant with this version of the Riddler. However, he could make for a decent Batman Cold Open, especially if he's reinvented as one of the Riddler's followers, or inspired by the same (allowing Nashton's Villainous Legacy to continue across the hypothetical Battinson-verse without having to say too much).
  • Perhaps if the Riddler is going to continue to be a villain alongside the Joker, then Anarky could serve as The Heavy for them, a true believer with more physical capacity.
• Waylon Jones/Killer Croc: Like in Batman: Earth One, Waylon Jones will be a man with a rare, extreme form of ichthyosis, who lives in the sewers to avoid being ostracized by "normal" people.
  • He could even appear over multiple films, with his condition worsening with each subsequent appearance, gradually going from a live actor in makeup like in Suicide Squad (2016) to a hulkling CGI monstrosity.
  • Maybe Killer Croc's appearance looks a lot like the Killer Croc seen in The Batman, He would have a more crocodile appearance, with a long snout, a tail, he would wear only a black leather vest and no pants and Ron Perlman would return be Killer Croc through from Motion Capture.
• Jervis Tetch/Mad Hatter: Tetch's mind control devices will be played for horror; the people under them will look pained and desperate as an elaborate device on their head essentially tortures them into obeying Tetch. Tetch will be forcing them to help him in abducting young girls in a quest to find his perfect "Alice", and have a child abductor/groomer vibe to him.
• Thomas Blake/Catman: Catman will be treated as a full on Evil Counterpart to Batman. He could possibly even be given some connection to Selina, like an obsessive incel-y admirer of hers who grows jealous of Batman and becomes Catman to replace him as her lover.
• Slade Wilson/Deathstroke: He will be The Dragon to Tony Zucco, who hires him for protection when Batman starts investigating the murder of the Flying Graysons. He'll eventually betray and kill Zucco for his own agenda and give Batman a challenge, which prompts Dick Grayson to step up as Robin. When he's defeated, he will comment on Robin's potential, foreshadowing his future rivalry with Dick when he becomes Nightwing.
• Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze: Probably the same backstory as usual: dying wife, cryogenic accident, Tragic Villain, etcetera. Though of course played a lot more seriously than Schwarzenegger was. There could even be an element of Body Horror to him inflicted by his condition, like suffering visible frostbite on his nose and fingers and such.
• Lazlo Valentino/Professor Pyg: Could play out like the supervillain equivalent of Jason Voorhees: a towering masked killer who does it all to please his dead mother (or imaginary goat-demon thing). Maybe a murder investigation plot similar to his side missions in Arkham Knight, with plenty of terror to be squeezed out of robbing his victims of their own selves.
• Hugo Strange: A psychologist who becomes obsessed with Batman and attempts to profile him and figure out his identity. Probably wouldn't be the Big Bad of an entire film at first, but likely a secondary antagonist similar to Coleman Reese in The Dark Knight before ascending to become the main threat of the next movie.
• Basil Karlo/Clayface: Could play out like John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) as he disguises himself as multiple people throughout the film while going about his plans to get revenge on a film studio that passed him over for what should have been his Star-Making Role. They could even keep it so that the audience is unsure whether or not a scene involves the real Bruce or Karlo in disguise.
• Bane: A much Truer to the Text depiction than Batman & Robin and The Dark Knight Rises. Born into a life sentence at Peña Dura, he becomes the biggest and baddest guy in the joint and escapes to test his strength, smarts, and skill against the most worthy opponent he could possibly hope for. He'd ideally be played by an actual Hispanic actor and they'd remember all the key aspects of the character that adaptations keep forgetting: strong even without Venom, advanced skills and intellect to rival Bruce, an accomplished schemer and planner that sets up multiple plans from the shadows, and not being anyone's Dragon or Dumb Muscle like so many depictions of him fall into.
  • Possibly alluded to, assuming that the green serum that Bruce injected himself with was Venom. Dave Bautista has also begged for the role and it wouldn't be too much effort to switch him from a Hispanic character to a Filipino one and have Santa Prisca be a fictional territory in the Philippines or part of the former Spanish East Indies.
• Harvey Dent/Two-Face: Introduced as an ally in one film, and stays that way for at least one more before his disfigurement. Even before that, though, we get hints of him struggling with his Split Personality before it fully takes over him. When he becomes the Big Bad of an entire film, the main conflict will be over Batman trying to reason with and save his friend from himself.
• Kirk Langstrom/Man-Bat: He could play out sort of like The Fly (1986): a scientist whose experiment goes wrong and slowly and tragically turns him into a mindless monster. There could even be a Jekyll and Hyde dynamic where Man-Bat awakens at night and terrorizes the city while Langstrom wakes up not knowing what he did, and remains unaware of his nature as the mysterious creature in the news until the very end.
• The Joker: If Joaquin Phoenix ever wants to play the role again (and it actually sounds like he does), he could do it here. It wouldn't necessarily have to make this movie a Stealth Sequel to Joker (2019), but that would be pretty cool. Or just get some talented actor to make a brand new mark on the character like Nicholson, Hamill, Ledger, Leto, and Phoenix before him. Ideally, though, they'd use other Bat-rogues we haven't yet seen on-screen before doing him.
  • Doubtful about it being Arthur Fleck. Phoenix (and presumably, the character) was 44 when Joker came out, Pattinson is (as of this post) 34, and Bruce is usually 8-years-old when his parents get killed. With at least 26 years passing, Arthur would have to be 70-years-old at this point.
    • Hence why I said it didn't have to be a Stealth Sequel. It could just be Joaquin Phoenix playing a brand new Joker. Yes, that's incredibly unlikely, but it is Wild Mass Guessing, after all. In all honesty, any Joker in this new series would definitely be a completely different actor, but I wanted to throw out the wild idea of Phoenix being involved somehow.
    • I just needed to put this out there but according to the script for Joker, he's only 32, not 44. So Joker wouldn't be in his 70's.
    • Joker as the next villain is now definitely a possibility, since he appears at the end. However, it is indeed a completely new actor playing him: Barry Keoghan.
• Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn: Similar backstory as always, but unlike Suicide Squad pull no punches in showing Joker as horribly abusive and her as a mentally-sick victim of his cruelty rather than just his quirky comedic sidekick.
• Ra's al Ghul: a wealthy and respected foreign businessman who secretly runs a ruthless terrorist organization with the Thanos-like goal of culling the human population to survive a crisis of resources. Whether or not stuff like Lazarus Pits exist is up to the filmmakers.
  • Talia would be his socialite daughter who Bruce falls in love with that is eventually revealed as knowing all about her father's actions... and simply not caring about the ethics of them.
• Andrea Beaumont/The Phantasm: Largely the same as she was in the original animated movie. It would just be really cool to see her in live-action.
• Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow: A sociopathic doctor at Arkham who is inhumanely testing his fear toxin on the inmates (who will be shown in this continuity to consist not just of maniacal supervillains, but also regular people who just need help), and plans to contaminate the city's water supply in the name of research. Yeah, it's similar to Batman Begins, but he'd hopefully be the Big Bad of the whole movie this time instead of just stepping aside for Ra's al Ghul halfway through.
• Victor Zsasz: Most likely a secondary villain, with his lone serial killer-ness and obsession with "the mark" being more prevalent than it was in Birds of Prey (2020).
• Thomas Elliot/Hush: He could do something similar to the "Identity Thief" storyline in Arkham City, planning to usurp Bruce's life and ruin his reputation out of revenge for Thomas Wayne saving Elliot's parents from his attempted murder.
  • The reporter that Thomas Wayne wanted intimidated into dropping his investigation was named Edward Elliot. While it could be a coincidence, there's also a chance it could add another layer to his animosity with Bruce.
• Joe Chill: If Bruce's bat-emblem in this movie isn't made of Chill's gun like many theorize, an entire movie, or a significant plotline in one, could revolve around Bruce finally tracking down snd confronting the man that made him who he is. Bonus points if they adapt the story where Bruce reveals his identity to Chill, who runs to the rogues for help, who kill him when he admits that he created Batman.
• Maxie Zeus: a high-ranking mafia head who is obsessed with Greek mythology and believes himself to be the real Zeus, and his mafia family as the other Olympians.
• Julian Day/Calendar Man: Similar to his Arkham series depiction, a serial killer obsessed with dates. Maybe made a Composite Character with The Holiday Killer.
• Crazy Steve: An insane, violet, sexually messed up homeless man who either believes himself to be, or wishes to replace, the real Batman, and kidnaps innocent young boys to be his Robins. Could alternatively be made into a take on Owlman or the Batman-Who-Laughs.
  • Alternatively, "Crazy Steve" could appear as an undercover alias for Bruce similar to Matches Malone
• David Cain: Same as he always is. Featuring a Truer to the Text version of Cassandra that Bruce saves and adopts.
• Jason Todd/Red Hood: A war veteran and vigilante who believes Batman isn't doing enough for the city and goes on a murderous rampage across the criminal underworld. Will not have been Robin or been resurrected before. Could even have shades of the Arkham Knight like being the commander of a militia that takes over the city.
  • Alternatively, he will be a Composite Character with the Red Hood that became the Joker, which can double as a reference to the theory that Jared Leto's Joker was actually Jason Todd. Jason will be inspired by Batman to be a vigilante, but Batman doesn't approve of his violent (and darkly comedic) methods. One night, both the Red Hood and Batman find out about a heist going on at Ace Chemicals, and Batman confronts the Hood after he kills a crime boss. Realizing that Batman isn't who he thought he was, he decides to try to kill him so that he could be Gotham's protector, and in the struggle, Batman accidentally knocks him into the vat of chemicals that creates the Clown Prince of Crime.
• Roman Sionis/Black Mask: Unlikely, given his well-regarded turn in Birds of Prey (2020), but it would be nice to see him shine as a real threat to Batman in an adaptation for once. Bonus points if they get Ewan McGregor again, even if it's not the same continuity.
• Prometheus: As a true Evil Counterpart to Batman, the son of criminals killed by cops who became the dark protector of the guilty and wrongdoing. His helmet won't give him instant information on metahuman moves and weaknesses or anything, but he's just as smart, cunning, and skilled as Batman.
• The Court of Owls: The trailer already implies that Riddler is involved with them in some way. They could be some sort of overarching Greater-Scope Villain like the League of Shadows was in The Dark Knight Trilogy.
  • Not impossible, but the actual movie had no suggestion that the Riddler was involved in the Court of Owls. If anything, they're the sort of people he would target if he was aware of their existence.
• Judson Caspian/The Reaper: a socialite who becomes murderous vigilante. He respects Batman, but despises Bruce Wayne, especially after Bruce starts dating his daughter, Rachel.
• Doctor Moon: A highly immoral neurosurgeon who'll be reimagined as being responsible for the creation of some of Batman's more physically twisted foes.
• James Gordon, Jr.: A totally human serial killer who's the son of one of Batman's most reliable allies seems like the kind of evil Reeves would be interested in exploring. It'd certainly be a bleak tale. It would give Barbara a lot to work with as a character if they introduce her as well.
• Sandra Woosan/Lady Shiva: If they ever do use Cassandra Cain, it'd be a waste to not include her mother, especially since they could go with the angle of her being a former student of one of Bruce's martial arts teachers who is his equal.
• Max Schreck: Probably just a minor antagonist to Bruce Wayne the businessman as a little Mythology Gag. Bonus points if he's still played by Walken.
• Brother Eye: Most likely a smaller-scale threat than it's usually depicted as, but an AI designed by Bruce that goes rogue, but in a more realistic manner like having it crash the stock market or pull off a mass leak of personal info. The OMACs could be reinterpreted as surveillance drones it uses to gather said info. Bonus points if it directly leads to the rise of Oracle in order to stop it.
• Snowflame: A powerful drug kingpin that's way too into his own product. He thinks that cocaine gives him superpowers, but he's actually just really high. Of course, a coked-up madman in a position of power is still a big threat that needs to be taken care of.
• Charles Brown/Kite-Man: A crazed terrorist who rides around in a jetpack that resembles the kite he had in the comics, he also wields an assault rifle and fires upon civilians.
• The Trigger Twins: A pair of gunslinging twin brothers who'll serve as bodyguards for a bigger villain.
• Cameron Van Cleer/Killer Moth: another candidate for an evil mirror to Bruce, Killer Moth will be based on his early appearances. He'll be another one of Gotham's wealthy elite who is acquainted with Bruce, who considers him a decent guy at first, only to discover that he's helping criminals as Killer Moth.
• Elliot Caldwell/Wrath: The son of jewel thieves who were arrested after a failed robbery and vowed revenge on the law since then. Another potential Evil Counterpart to Bruce, and bonus points if he's played by Taylor Lautner.
• Boss Dark Side: A powerful crime lord who, unlike the comics, has no connections at all to a certain New God, yet still shares his god complex and desire to crush the will of his enemies.
• Drury Walker/Killer Moth: Drury Walker would be a prison man who after hearing about Batman's existence in Gotham City, then Walker would start to hate Batman, because there is a vigilante who protects justice so he, then would decide to become a vigilante who protects injustice by calling himself Killer Moth.
  • Maybe Killer Moth seeing that he has no powers to defeat Batman, then Walker undergoes a mutation that would turn him into a giant mutant moth to better deal with Batman and make him look like his version of The Batman.
• John Doe/Copperhead: A sociopathic killer from Arkham Asylum, who always wears a copperhead-like disguise, Copperhead always engages in deadly pursuits such as constricting innocent victims to suffocating death with the tail of his disguise.
  • It is possible that Copperhead wears a costume very similar to the one he wore in Justice League and his personality would be his as the Copperhead from Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.
• Margaret Pye/Magpie: She would be another skillful jewel thief but Margaret uses Animal Motifs of magpies instead of cats, there would be a Love Triangle rivalry between her and Catwoman, to see who wins Batman's heart, Magpie's appearance would be based on it seen at Beware the Batman.
• Leonard "Lenny" Fiasco/The Eraser: A former classmate from Bruce's high school days who is now a criminal for hire. Lenny's area of expertise is eliminating all evidence of a crime scene so no one realizes the crime was committed, which has earned him the moniker "The Eraser". The proper Big Bad of the film will hire Lenny to cover his tracks so Batman can't figure out what they're planning. Bruce will eventually put two and two together after some interactions with Lenny in civilian identity.
• Lord Death Man: a Japanese crime lord who wears a white skull mask and is the master of a form of meditation that allows him to perfectly simulate dying, making people believe that he is undead/immortal.

Catwoman will pull Batman back from Black-and-White Insanity

Bruce is not yet a hardened superhero, and the film's shift from thugs and gangsters to bonafide supervillains will tax him. He begins to let rage and despair take over, which increases his brutality. Then he learns Catwoman, one of the enemies he's juggling, is using heist money to fund a good cause, e.g. a safe children's home in the wrong side of Gotham. Not a psychopath, not a crime boss, just someone doing a good thing with not-so-good methods. Bruce remembers that people cannot be better unless given the chance, which establishes the Batman's transformation from agent of vengeance to symbol of justice.

• Given that this is pretty similar to Bruce's character arc in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I think they either wouldn't do that or tweak the idea significantly so as to avoid just doing the same thing over again.
  • Jossed. It's actually not Catwoman who catalyzes Batman's maturation from The Cowl to The Cape: it's Riddler. Batman is horrified to discover that his mantra of "I'm vengeance" is inspiring people like Riddler, for all the wrong reasons, and the film ends with him understanding that there's more to being the Batman than angrily beating up and frightening criminals.

Possible future members of the Bat-Family, or other allies

• Dick Grayson: The obvious one. Instead of being a circus performer, he could be the child of some wealthy industrialists Bruce is close to, who takes gymnastics and martial arts classes in his free time. His parents are murdered by a corporate rival and Bruce, seeing the parallels between them, takes him under his wing to make sure his anger and vengeance can be used constructively. The Robin costume could be influenced by the Arkham one, a protective ensemble that allows for relatively unrestricted movement, with a muted color sceme similar to Batman Forever.
• Barbara Gordon: Jim's daughter, obviously. She could admire Batman for working with her father and want to help him out using her computer skills, thus being Oracle before Batgirl, if she ever becomes Batgirl.
• Selina Kyle: I mean, we already know she's involved here. She won't be a full-time member or anything, but a frequent ally who may sometimes use them to help her get to a score without them realizing it.
• Cassandra Cain: A Truer to the Text version than Birds of Prey (2020), Batman rescues her from David's Training from Hell and adopts her to give her a better life. Becoming Batgirl will be her choice to help attone for the things she's done.
• Tim Drake: Would be around Dick's age in this version. He won't become Robin right away, but he'll use his gifts of deduction to find out Bruce and Dick's identities and offer to help them out as a secret civilian ally. When Dick becomes Nightwing, Bruce trusts Tim to become his new partner after already showing his capabilities and moral strength.
  • Another Tim Drake possibility is that he's Mayor Mitchell's son (his widowed mother could have gotten remarried to a man named Drake, or could have Drake as her maiden name). It would give us a relatively comics accurate version of Tim for once: a rich kid who figures out Batman's identity through deductive skills and some personal knowledge. Granted, given his age, he could only be Robin if there's a Time Skip, or a few movies down the road as a Legacy Character if the movie starts a long-lasting franchise and there's more than one Robin.
• Stephanie Brown: Potentially making Riddler a Composite Character with her dad, she helps Batman and the GCPD in secret to stop the Riddle Killer, and gets put in witness protection afterwards under the name "Stephanie Brown", as opposed to her birth name as "[Something] Nashton".
• Jason Todd: Possibly the villain WMG for him above before reforming as an ally of Batman's, or an angry young teenager caught up in a gang that Batman helps him to escape. He becomes an ally, but never Robin, and struggles with anger issues, violet outbursts, and feelings of inadequacy towards his place in the family.
• Kate Kane: Bruce's cousin, naturally. She figures out his identity and becomes Batwoman to help him out. It helps that she'll no longer be the main character of the TV show, so this frees her up for a movie role if DC's character embargoes between the movies and TV are still a thing. Her basis in military tactics and training would also fit in nicely with a grounded take on the Batman world.
  • In the film, a copy of the Zohar, a Kabbalistic text, is seen in Thomas's study. Kate has been associated with Kabbalistic imagery and symbolism in some of her earlier comics. A clue, perhaps?
• Terry McGinnis: Or, rather, his father, Warren McGinnis, who is a peer of Dick and Tim. He'd be a non-costumed ally to the Bat-Family, resulting in a Distant Finale in the final movie in the series with his son taking up the mantle.
• Luke Fox: If Lucius shows up in this series, that is. A gifted mechanic who is inspired by Batman's heroics and invents his own suit of armor to become Batwing.
• Damian Wayne: The result of a one-night stand Bruce had a while back (be it with Talia or someone else), that shows up in his life one day, and Bruce has to learn how to be a father while still being Batman. He probably wouldn't be Robin for quite a while.
• Renee Montoya: A hardassed, loose cannon detective who gets results and doesn't play well with others. May not become the Question, but definitely operates like a vigilante, which gets her in trouble with the force.
• Oliver Queen: A billionaire acquaintance of Bruce's who figures the whole rich themed vigilante thing is a good idea, and decides to try it out for himself at home. He ends up being regarded by the public In-Universe as a Batman knockoff, much to his irritation.
• Dinah Lance: Ollie's girlfriend, along for the ride because she approves of beating up bad guys. Her status as a masterful martial artist will be at the forefront of her character here. The Canary Cry could be achieved using some kind of sonic tech instead of being an actual superpower. It really depends on how comic book-y Matt Reeves wants this series to get.
• Richard Dragon: a martial artist who shared a mentor with Bruce and comes to Gotham help him despite having a strained relationship and a rivalry over who is the superior fighter.
• Ace the Bat-Hound: Similar to the Batman Beyond version. He gets rescued from a dogfighting ring and becomes Bruce's pet.
• Jean-Paul Valley: Pretty much how he was in Knightfall. Bruce is incapacitated by Bane, so Valley shows up to be the new, more antiheroic Batman for a bit.
• Clark Kent: Just a friendly, mild-mannered reporter from Metropolis. Nothing special about him. Nope. Nothing.^note Most likely just a reference or cameo
• Helena Bertinelli: A fellow vigilante who's called in to assist Batman at some point.
• Vic Sage/The Question: a fellow vigilante detective who Bruce turns goes to for help. He'll be a very strange man, causing Bruce to end up dismissing him as a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but proves to be helpful in uncovering something he missed by the end.
  • All jossed. For this film anyway.

This film series will start off grounded firmly in reality, but over time will see more and more comic-booky elements pop up.

It probably won't go full-on Fantasy Kitchen Sink or anything, but as time goes on elements like Poison Ivy, Lazarus Pits, and low-level metahumans like Black Canary or Black Lightning will begin to appear. Nothing too outlandish like Superman or Wonder Woman, but not so vehemently realistic like the Nolanverse the whole time.

• Potentially Jossed. Some set photos indicate that Superman and Wonder Woman do already exist in this world.

Batman Grabs a Gun

What will make Batman realize that he's going too far near over the edge will be when he's been pushed so far that he actually grabs a gun, and seriously considers taking a life. This is where he'll realize he's better than this and where he fully completes his transformation into the heroic Batman we all know and love.

• Seeing as how that was part of the plotline of Batman v Superman, and people... didn't respond well to it, I'd say it's unlikely.
  • The difference was that in Batman v. Superman, he actually went through with using a gun and breaking his Thou Shalt Not Kill rule.
    • Technically he just shot the flamethrower. Obviously there's little chance of surviving that in real life, but we've seen villains survive worse.
    • Come on, he shot a normal {{Mook’s}} flamethrower, there’s no way that Bruce thought he wasn’t going to die from that. Also I think this was more referencing the future dream where he just starts blasting everyone with pistols. Anyway, I agree that I think this version will not kill anybody, as after Affleck’s portrayal, people have gotten so sick of Batman killing that they’ll want an iteration who’s never shown to have a body count.
• Jossed. Batman specifically says he doesn’t use guns.

The Long Halloween influences

Since it's apparent that the movie takes inspiration:

• Carmine Falcone will die in the movie, symbolically completing this version of Gotham's transition from regular organized crime to supervillain plots.
  • Confirmed. Carmine Falcone gets assassinated by the Riddler during the third act.
• This isn't the first time Catwoman and Batman have met, and the scene in the trailer where they fight in the study is probably based on their first encounter in the comic where it's clear it isn't their first tango.
  • Jossed. The scene in the study is their first meeting.

The film will end on a Pyrrhic Victory for Bruce.

• Though he's likely to foil whatever end scheme Riddler has in store, it's not going to reverse all the damage and chaos that's occurred over the course of the movie. Aside from Gotham's criminal syndicate remaining on top, Bruce now has more adversaries to worry about in the form of Cobblepot and ostensibly Selina, and to top it all off, just about everything he's known about his parents and Gotham's elite has been uprooted, throwing the very existence of his career as Batman into question. Bruce will choose to keep crusading as he always has, but with the lingering thought that by doing so, he's keeping himself trapped in a vicious cycle. It's possible Bruce's Thousand-Yard Stare seen at the end of the trailer could take place near the end of the movie or even be the last scene in the movie itself, reflecting how much of a toll the events have taken on him.
  • Somewhat confirmed. While The Riddler nearly completes his entire scheme un-hindered, a lot of people die, and Gotham is flooded, Batman does manage to prevent a massacre. This, and the realisation that his current way of doing things is only encouraging extremism, has him start to work on becoming a symbol of hope instead.

The subplot of Selina possibly being an illegitimate Falcone child will be included

This is really more wishful thinking than an actual theory based on reason. But they're both confirmed to be in the movie, so it's possible.

• It would be a good way to give her an arc we haven't seen in a movie until now.
• Actually, confirmed! Selina is the child of a dancer that worked for Falcone.

Related to the "Riddler is a Well-Intentioned Extremist" WMG above, the Riddler in this movie will be a former reporter trying to expose the Court of Owls, and testing the Batman's moral code.

• There are numerous parts of the Fan Dome trailer which involve both the Riddler and newspapers - him murdering the guy at the beginning of the trailer is a good example. This *could* point to a connection to the media, such as being a former reporter.
• Some of the headlines seem to imply that the victim is a politician who just won re-election ("Don's Done It Again!"). The Riddler writes "LIES" over these headlines. And this isn't the only bit of the teaser that implies that the Riddler is opposed to corruption in Gotham.
• So, what if the Riddler was a former reporter who uncovered corruption in the politician's electoral campaign, but before he could expose it he was framed for a crime and wound up in prison? And the people he's killing are the people who were involved in the conspiracy to frame him.
• And since there's already been speculation that the Court of Owls is involved in the plot, what if the Riddler discovered their existence while trying to figure out who was involved in framing him? He wants to expose the Court of Owls, but he knows he can't trust the police or the media, so instead he leaves riddles for the Batman to solve that will lead him to discover the Court's existence. Since the Batman isn't part of the system, he might be more trustworthy, but the Riddler doesn't know that for sure.
• At one point in the teaser, the Riddler says "if you are justice, please do not lie. What is the price for your blind eye?" - if this is addressed to the Batman, then the Riddler could be testing Batman to see if he can be trusted, or if he'll turn a blind eye to the Court of Owls's existence.
• Jossed, the Riddler is a forensics accountant and is trying to expose corruption in Gotham as a whole, there is no mention of the Court of Owls.

The Riddler knows Bruce Wayne is the Batman.

• This is related to the WMG above, but it's possible that the Waynes had some connection to the Court of Owls, in which case the Riddler has even more reason not to know if he can trust the Batman. And his "you're a part of this too" comment would be an allusion to this connection.
  • Jossed, there is a bait and switch where Bruce believes Riddler has figured it out, but ultimately no.

There will be Book Ends in regards to "I'm vengeance"

• Taking into account the theory that that scene is the opening scene, "vengeance" will be where Bruce starts at the beginning of the film. By the end after all the Riddler stuff is over, he'll encounter a similar situation but is now less brutal. He'll be asked What the Hell Are You? again, but this time he'll probably say something like "I'm justice" or "I'm Batman".
  • There are "vengeance" bookends, but not like this. The bookend is one of Riddler's followers saying it, as a justification for their actions, causing Batman to realise that his methods as an avatar of vengeance are only encouraging extremism and causes him to focus on helping the city and its people, rather than simply bludgeoning the guilty.

Focus on Bruce's life before deciding to become Batman will be minimal

From what little we've seen of the film so far, the focus appears to be on his current life, which leads one to wonder if, unlike movies of Batman before this one, that we'll get to see less of his parents getting shot or him enduring the stress as a young child.

• Not just jossed, but there is 'no' focus on Bruce’s life before Batman.

The Batman will be the start of the Earth-2 film continuity

There have been rumors that the film is set in the cinematic version of Earth-2, the polar opposite of pre-Crisis Earth-1 in the comics and Walter Hamada did speak of the multiverse at DC FanDome 2020. If the film is successful, WB will greenlight a sequel and perhaps flesh out the world of Earth-2 with alternate versions of multiple DC characters such as Superman and Wonder Woman, played by different actors.

• It's definitely a new film continuity, at least.

Inspiration is being drawn from Batman: The Telltale Series

While the Batman mythos spans decades, and certain stories (like The Long Halloween) have a big influence on other interpretations, there are certain similarities here—such as the rumors that Bruce's parents were corrupt in this continuity as well as Riddler being a more bloodthirsty serial killer—that bear more than a passing resemblance to Telltale's take on the character.

• Partially confirmed. It's revealed that Thomas Wayne was in cahoots with Carmine Falcone for a bit, but it was to protect Martha from being exposed by a reporter who wanted to reveal her connections to the Arkham family. However, Falcone took things too far and had the reporter murdered, leaving Thomas horrified at what happened.

Batman is the (Albeit Unknowing) villain.

See, this draws from The Riddler's words "If you're justice, please do not lie ; What is the price, for your blind eye?", and his quasi-vigilante justice, killing the mayor, and trying to uncover the corruption in Gotham City.Batman, in this iteration seems much more, well, unhinged, more violent, more like the Bat, than Man. Perhaps, he is being manipulated by a sinister force, that has been controlling Gotham from the shadows for generations; the Court of Owls. His Gauntlets looks suspiciously like those of the Talon, the chief enforcer of the Court of Owls, perhaps his tech was supplied by this group, and they are using his rage, and search for vengeance as a way to further their own motives, to remove the people who could be a threat to them, with The Riddler trying to uncover them.Maybe, Thomas and Martha Wayne were opposed to the system, maybe Thomas was once a member, but regardless, he went against it, leading to his death, at the hands of one Joe Chill, the Previous Talon (Joe Chill was a desperate burglar in previous iterations, but this will make him much more sinister).When Bruce started his journey to become Batman, the Court of Owls supplied him with the Talon's gauntlets and some other equipment, and have been manipulating him ever since. The Riddler maybe came from another one of the High-End Families, The Nashtons, and has begun his crusade against the Court, by killing everyone involved.

If the film is set around the present day, then the Waynes were murdered in 1998 after seeing The Mask of Zorro

Akin to Joker (2019) using 1981's Zorro, the Gay Blade.

The 'Duct Tape Killer' is Hush, or a variation on the concept

Drawing inspiration from Batman: Hush in which Thomas Elliot's Hush persona is part of a wider ploy by The Riddler, the serial killer won't be Edward Nashton/Nygma himself but a pawn in his wider game. If the film takes the Batman: Earth One approach to The Riddler (a man hell-bent on exposing corruption at the heart of Gotham), parts of the Hush concept could translate quite nicely into a vendetta against the Wayne family. The international trailer heavily implies that The Riddler/Duct Tape Killer has connected Batman to Bruce Wayne, perhaps feeding into the idea that the very existence of a vigilante like Batman encourages more crime than he seeks to prevent.

• Obscuring the face of whoever's in the prison cell is another telling decision, since Paul Dano's casting as The Riddler has been very widely publicised. The main trailer even opens with Dano's character being captured, though this is likely part of further mind games thanks to the question mark left in the coffee froth.
• Kinda. Whilst Hush doesn't appear in the movie, The Riddler plays a video alleging that Thomas Wayne ordered the murder of a journalist named Edward Elliot. Moments later, the word "Hush!" appears on the screen referring to the subsequent cover-up.

Harvey Dent will be in the Sequel Hook

In one of the preview scenes, Gotham's current District Attorney is forced to crash a car into a funeral with a bomb strapped to his neck. Whether it be because Bruce fails to save him, or because the incident causes enough shame for him to stand down, Harvey will be his successor.

• Jossed. The sequel hook is the Joker.

Bruce will favor being called "Vengeance" at the beginning of the film, only to adopt the "Batman" moniker towards the end due to his Character Development.

• Partially Jossed. Batman realizes that his "I'm Vengeance" line is inspiring looney fans like the Riddler, and he decides to move away from it. But he neither embraces nor turns away from "Batman" as a moniker.

The Riddler is a former military cryptographer

His mask is definitely military-issue, and his jacket seems to be as well. The outfit itself is just another clue he's intentionally leaving, whether from eyewitnesses, surveillance footage, etc. A history in cryptography would fit with an M.O. of leaving behind codes and other such clues.

• Jossed, he’s a forensics accountant.

The sequel will include a sidekick... but it won't be Dick Grayson

Robert Pattinson has gone on record saying that, provided the kid sidekick is actually a kid, he would be in favor of including Robin in a sequel.However the state of Gotham at the end of the film, unless they skip over the recovery period which would be a major wasted opportunity, does not really make a circus visiting Gotham make much sense, making it far less likely that they could do Dick Grayson's story. This raises the possibility of a different member of the bat family taking center stage. I have a few suggestions of who it could be.

• Perhaps they could do Dick Grayson by making the circus into a Circus of Fear that sprung up from the general lawlessness of Gotham.
• Jason Todd: Jason would be the easiest to fit into the story; living in the high crime areas of Gotham that Batman stalks, it'd be easy for him to show up, possibly leading into a Bruce vs Jason 3rd film.
• Carrie Kelly: A fan favorite from the Dark Knight returns, like Jason, Carrie's origin is fairly easy to work into the film; girl with neglective parents is saved by Batman, buys a costume and becomes crime fighter, they could even forgo Robin, and the fact that the origins of the costume and name are heavily tied to Dick Grayson himself, and have Carrie serve as Batgirl.
• Barbra Gordon: Jim is one of the main secondary protagonists of the film, his daughter could easily be introduced in a sequel, growing inspired by Batman and becoming Batgirl. Alternatively she could immediately become Oracle, leaving the mantle open for one of the Batgirls who has had less coverage. They even have a perfect avenue to skip over the problematic Killing Joke origin of Barbra's Paralysis: in the chaos of Riddler's flood and the subsequent attack, it'd be easy to imagine Barbra suffering spinal damage, confining her to a wheelchair and allowing her to become Oracle.
• Stephanie Brown: Riddler amassed quite a following, it is easy to imagine that after the climax some criminals may emulate him, the possibility of Arthur Brown acting as somewhat of a started villain before the sequel's true villain, likely Joker, making his move, and Steph rising up a Spoiler to stop him, ending up crossing paths with Bruce.
• Cassandra Cain: It may just be me but something about the state of Gotham at the end (ravaged by catastrophe, crime likely to skyrocket) felt rather No-Man's Land-y, which is of course where Cass debuted, if that's the route they want to go Cass could open the door to a plotline involving the League. Beyond that it'd give Cass fans a chance to have a Truer to the Text version after Bird's of Prey's In Name Only version.
• Original Character: If they don't want to go any of those ways, they could just invent a new sidekick, unlikely but possible.
• Tim Drake: A teenage hacker whose investigation of Riddler's followers leads him to unwittingly discover Bruce's identity and earning a massive target in his back, forcing him to join up with Bruce for his own safety. He could start as the Mission Control slash Voice with an Internet Connection ala Oracle before he takes a step up in badass and becomes a fellow vigilante in his own right.

The "unnamed Arkham inmate's" real name is Jack Napier

The Joker's cell at Arkham is right next to the Riddler, aka Edward Nashton. If the cells are organized by alphabetical order, Napier is a name that would put him there.

• Alternatively Napier is one of the Joker's many aliases as his real name is something even he doesn't really remember. Also it would tie back to his Multiple-Choice Past.

In the sequel, Riddler will have a comic-accurate costume

After breaking out of Arkham, he and Joker will acquire fancier, themed clothing, and there will be no need to hide his identity, allowing him to get the iconic bowler had and green suit.

Catwoman will return

It's most likely to happen but the circumstances for her returning to Gotham could be a multitude of things; from simply missing Batman, realizing she has unfinished business with the city, or her character wanting to be more involved in vigilantism. She can be more involved in stealing from Gotham's socialites for not only herself but for the city's disenfranchised too. One of these burglaries could occur in Wayne Tower where she'll be caught by Bruce (not as Batman). This "first" meeting could be the start of Selina figuring out the city's most famous billionaire, whom she dislikes, is the same vigilante she's romantically interested in.

The spin-off series set in Arkham will introduce multiple minor villains

Specifically, ones who the creative team wouldn't think could work as major antagonists in a sequel, but would still like to have as a part of this Gotham anyway. Some could carry over into another film as minor antagonists or even just cameos, like the cut scene where Batman spoke to Joker about Riddler.

If there's ever a spin-off about Selina, it'll be called The Catwoman

Batman injected himself with Venom in the climax

After getting shot square in the chest with a shotgun at point blank range, Bruce was clearly in extreme pain and could barely move until he grabbed a syringe of some unknown green substance that he had tucked away, injected himself, and got a Heroic Second Wind. Whatever it was was able to make him shake off the pain and also sent him into a murderous rage, and he very nearly beat the mook who shot him to death. Now, what else in the DCU is bright green, comes in liquid form, is administered via injection, and is an extremely powerful combat drug? It's probably not the super-steroid of the comics - it's more likely some sort of extremely powerful stimulant and/or ergogenic aid. Whether Bane will eventually show up remains to be seen, but he probably does exist in this universe and just isn't aware of Batman's existence yet - Venom is either some sort of experimental drug that Bruce was able to access through his connections, or it's a black market derivative of something else (possibly Miraclo) that Bruce had to acquire through less-than-legitimate channels.

• This is almost definitely false: concept art in the movie's official art book identifies the injector as containing adrenaline (as stated by the concept artist, and by the fact that a more detailed image of the injector shows that it is labelled "epinephrine" on the side, another term for adrenaline).

The Court of Owls will be the overarching antagonists for the rest of The Batman trilogy

With the heavy emphasis on Gotham being corrupt to its very foundations established in the first movie, the Court could be a recurring villain organization of Gotham's wealthy elitists who methodically weave Batman and his rogues gallery to conflict from the shadows for their personal gain. It can be used as symbolism for systemic issues and show that Bruce really can't make a difference just as Batman that he needs to be both. Discovering the Court of Owls can also lead to more clues for Bruce and Alfred to uncover more about Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder. It can be left ambiguous as to whether or not they were actually involved in their deaths just so it can be a central plot line at least until the end of the trilogy. Perhaps they were invited into the Court but refused and the Court felt as if the Waynes would be a great threat.

The Court of Owls and Batman's costumed rouges will hate each other more than Batman himself.

Because Batman is also working to bring down the corrupt system , but at least doesn't go around killing rich people. While he will certainly be a thorn in the sides of both parties, the rouges may consider him the lesser evil to the Court and vice versa.

The Joker was Batman's first major villain that he fought in his vigilante career.

Doing this would set a foundation for the two's relationship, with Batman setting a milestone by helping bring down his first big rogue and Joker arrested possibly for the first time ever and no less by someone who he finds a kindred spirit in. The deleted scene confirmed that Batman was the one who put Joker in Arkham. Joker wittingly remarks how it's the "anniversary" of the day he was brought in, meaning sometime has passed, most likely a year to be precise.

The Joker will not be the sequel's villain

To play with the audience's expectations. He may have a chat with Batman similar to the deleted scene, but there will be other villains driving the plot. At the end of the movie, Joker and Riddler will escape, free the new villain, and join forces for the third movie.

Possible titles for the sequel.

• The Batman 2 for simplicity's sake (though it could be spelt as The Batman II as well).
• Simply keeping "Batman" as the main title and adding a subtitle depending on the plot.
  • This could take the form of using the possible antagonists as a subtitle (i.e. Batman: The Court if the Court of Owls end up becoming the focus of the film)
• In a similar vein, possibly lifting a subtitle from the comics whether or not that comic actually inspires the story or not, in the vein of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
  • Batman: Dark Victory, which could fit well as that book itself is the sequel to The Long Halloween, upon which this film draws plot and visual inspiration from and could also apply to Dark Victory and The Batman's sequel.
  • Batman: No Man's Land, dealing with the fallout of The Riddler flooding Gotham during the climax and being similar to the fallout of the earthquake in the comic story, though some may argue this was already adapted in large part by The Dark Knight Rises.
• Possibly continuing the use "The Batman" as the grammatical basis of the title, in the vein of Beware the Batman.
  • Fear the Batman (possible Scarecrow appearance?)
    • Possible but unlikely; a key part of the film's narrative Arc is Bruce going from a Terror Hero to a Hope Bringer, with that in mind it would thematically clash to have a title using the format suggested above.
• The Batman and Robin/The Robin

Dory the housekeeper isn't just an Expy of Aunt Harriet, but is actually an alternate universe version of her and will adopt her orphaned, ex-circus acrobat nephew in a sequel as a way of bringing Dick into Batman's life.

In the future, as Batman becomes more successful and less feared, there will be references to copycats like the Club of Heroes or Batman International.

This movie's version of the Joker is Arthur Fleck.

The chemical bath changed him so much he no longer looks like Joaquim Phoenix or anyone else old enough to be an adult back when Bruce was a kid.

The Riddler thinks Bruce Wayne is afraid of him.

After Bruce learns how the mob stole from the renewal fund, he took control over it and the Riddler, still believing Bruce doesn't care about the underprivileged, will assume the attempted murder made him afraid the Riddler's followers will do a better job.

The Riddler used to be an accountant for Wayne Enterprises.

Learning how Bruce refused to look at the renewal fund's books is one of the reasons he thinks Bruce doesn't care about the people the fund was meant to help. The Riddler thinks keeping Martha's secret is Bruce's pay for not looking into the books.

Cluemaster wil make a cameo early in the second movie as an explicitly Riddler-inspired petty crook who is quickly caught, with his daughter making an Early-Bird Cameo.

• Considering none of Riddler's followers in the climax are explicitly named, its entirely possible he was one of them (with the others being other clue-leaving Batman villains, like Signalman and the Baffler).

What Earth this is in the Arrowverse's Multiverse:

• Earth-22, following the usual convention of the last two digits of a work's release date being the Earth's designation. While it's supposed to be where Wells 2.0 came from, the Crisis was already shown to rewrite Earths entirely, such as turning Earth-19, which went from a clear alternate of Earth-1 to the setting of Swamp Thing (2019).
• Earth-222, using the designation formation for Birds of Prey (2002) of simply taking out the second digit.
• Earth-39, after Batman's debut year of 1939.

If Mr. Freeze is the sequel's villain, his theme will be Waltz of the Snowflakes.

In the same way Ave Maria followed the Riddler. Not does the music fit Victor's whole gimmick, it can reference his wife Nora if she's still a ballerina like in the comics.

There will a Bait-and-Switch with Bruce's future Private Eye Monologues.

Either the opening or closing monologue will start out as Batman's inner dialogue, before it's revealed to be a speech Bruce Wayne is giving at a social function (loaded with Double Meanings). This establishes his Character Development, as he's now accepted how being the billionaire philanthropist serves Gotham.

The Joker will never be a Big Bad in any sequel.

He will spend the entire series acting behind the scenes as more of a puppet master than an actual threat.

Assuming Hush does appear, his hatred of Bruce Wayne will have a Red Herring thrown in there.

Throughout the movie, Bruce will assume Hush wants him dead because of his dad inadvertently killing his. During a climactic scene/battle, Bruce tries to apologise to Thomas about this... only for Thomas to reveal that he's happy Bruce's dad killed his, going on to explain how his dad saved his mother when he tried to kill her for the inheritance needless to say, Bruce will be pissed.

Batman's Elemental Motifs will move on from fire to lightning/storms.

Other versions of Batman are associated with thunderstorms, usually in the form of a Lightning Reveal. Storms represent renewal while lighting represents divine punishment, and further use of gadgets would use the sub-motif of electricity.