Key Takeaways
- Announcement: Warner Bros. Animation is adapting Batman: Knightfall into a multi-part animated event.
- Production: The first part, Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall, is set for a 2026 release.
- Story Elements: The adaptation will explore Bane’s impact on Batman and his Rogue’s Gallery.
- Film Sequel: A sequel to The Batman is in production, with Robert Pattinson returning as Batman.
It was announced today that Batman: Knightfall will be brought to life as a multi-part animated event. Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment revealed the project during the Art Knight: Batman in Animation panel at New York Comic-Con today. The iconic Batman storyline introduced Bane, the supervillain who would ultimately break Batman’s back in one of the most striking comic-book panels of all time.
The first installment, Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall, is already in production for a 2026 release, but no voice cast has been announced. The logline reads: “When the mysterious behemoth known only as Bane frees Batman’s entire Rogue’s Gallery from Arkham Asylum, the Caped Crusader is pushed to his mental and physical breaking point.“
Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is directed by Jeff Wamester from a script by Jeremy Adams. Rick Morales serves as supervising producer alongside producers Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau. Sam Register and Michael Uslan are executive producers.
Although Batman: Knightfall has never had a direct adaptation, elements of the story have been incorporated into many other projects, most notably Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. The Knightfall story arc was actually a trilogy, consisting of Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. After being left a paraplegic by Bane’s attack, Batman asked Jean-Paul Valley to take over as the Dark Knight. However, Valley becomes increasingly violent and unstable, tarnishing Batman’s reputation.
Outside of the realm of animation, we’ll see Batman back on the big screen with Matt Reeves’ sequel to The Batman. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the follow-up for several years, but now that the script is complete, production is finally set to begin next year. Details are sparse, but Reeves has teased that the villain has “never really been done in a movie before.“
Robert Pattinson will once again suit up as Batman, and it’s expected that Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell will also return as Jim Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth, and the Penguin, respectively. There have also been rumblings that Tobias Menzies is circling a role in the film.
Farrell recently read the script for the sequel and was very moved. “This film, like the first one, works on multiple levels, both as pure entertainment and as an investigation into the psychology of the characters of Bruce Wayne and Batman,” he said. “It’s really, really moving. I found myself very emotionally moved while I was reading it.“
