With two different Batmen set to appear in upcoming DC movies, filmmakers have some creative freedom in how they approach the character. Matt Reeves’ The Batman proved something crucial in 2022: Gotham doesn’t need shared-universe clutter to feel alive. His crime-noir vision grounded Bruce Wayne in a world of grit and shadows, a Gotham closer to Chinatown than Justice League. Now, as Reeves expands his Elseworlds corner, with The Batman: Part II on the horizon and The Penguin series, available to stream with an HBO Max subscription, already fleshed out the city’s underworld — he has a rare opportunity. Free from continuity handcuffs, Reeves can cherry-pick from decades of iconic Dark Knight stories.
Which brings me to one of the greatest animated TV series of all time, and that’s Batman: The Animated Series. So many of the episodes of the DCAU resonated with me.
