'The Batman' returns: Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves to team up again for sequel

Warner Bros' latest take on the superhero franchise has been a critical and commercial success

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  Robert Pattinson plays Batman in the new Warner Bros action adventure 'The Batman'. All photos: Warner Bros Pictures / DC Comics

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  Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne.

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  Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle.

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  John Turturro as Carmine Falcone.

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  Batman in this film is already in his second year of cleaning Gotham’s streets of crime.

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  Robert Pattinson says Batman is the only superhero he'd play.

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  Jeffrey Wright, left, as Lt James Gordon, with Batman.

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  Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin.

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  Peter Sarsgaard, right, as District Attorney Gil Colson.

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  The Bat-Signal, the symbol of Batman as an avenging angel.

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  Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) and Batman.

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  Of course, there is a powerful Batmobile in the film, too.

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  Andy Serkis as the loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth.

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  Director Matt Reeves says to expect plenty of action in 'The Batman'.

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:

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  With 'The Batman' starring Robert Pattinson being released worldwide, we look back at the other movies in which DC Comics’s Caped Crusader takes centre stage. All photos: Warner Bros, unless otherwise specified

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  12. 'Batman and Robin' (1997) starring George Clooney.

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  11. Henry Cavill in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (2016).

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  10. Adam West in 'Batman: The Movie' (1966), the first feature film starring the Caped Crusader. Photo: 20th Century Studios

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  9. Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher in 'Justice League' (2017).

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  8. Jim Carrey as the Riddler in 'Batman Forever' (1995).

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  7. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012).

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  6. Jack Nicholson as Joker in 'Batman' (1989).

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  5. Will Arnett and Zach Galifianakis voiced Batman and Joker respectively in 'The Lego Batman Movie' (2017).

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  4. Danny DeVito as the Penguin in 'Batman Returns' (1992).

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  3. Robert Pattinson in 'The Batman' (2022).

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  2. Christian Bale in 'Batman Begins' (2005).

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  1. Christian Bale took on the role in ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), which rewrote the character.