The Batman is coming home. The latest entry in The Caped Crusader film canon, which introduces Robert Pattinson as Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler and Collin Farrell as The Penguin, is available to stream on HBO Max starting April 18.
This streaming release is just the beginning of WarnerMedia’s plans for The Batman and His Universe. The series also has at least two spin-offs in the works, one following the criminal rise of Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin, and another about the various inmates of Arkham Asylum. Of course, with the theatrical success of The Batman, there’s also a good chance of a sequel in the future, and while director Matt Reeves has shared a deleted scene with a new villain, there’s no word yet on a sequel.
The Batman hit theaters on March 4th and received praise from almost everyone. To date, The Batman has grossed more than $350 million domestically and nearly $750 million at the international box office. Perhaps even more impressively, the film peaked at number five at the US box office this past weekend, over a month after its release.
This rapid shift to streaming is part of WarnerMedia’s new 45-day plan, which sees its theatrical releases appear 45 days after their theatrical debut on the HBO Max streaming service. The 45-day window is an attempt to strike a balance between the month-long windows cinemas used to insist on and WarnerMedia’s disastrous strategy in 2021 to release films on the same day in streaming and in cinemas.