Matt Reeves’s The Batman hits theaters on March 4th, 2022, as it was delayed from its original release date of October 1st, 2021 due to Covid. The movie features an all-star cast including Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Andy Serkis, Paul Dano, and more. The film will see Batman in his second year as the Caped Crusader fighting to uncover deep corruption within the history of Gotham that ties back to his own family. Matt Reeves’s fresh take on Batman has been confirmed to be a trilogy, with Robert Pattinson continuing to appear as Batman throughout. The themes of corruption and conspiracy along with the announced trilogy got me thinking about who could be the overarching antagonists. Today I’ll be taking a look at why I believe The Court of Owls would make the greatest villain for the new Batman trilogy.
The Batman Trailer
Already, in the first trailer, we got some breadcrumbs that could lead us to the Court potentially making an appearance sooner rather than later. The Batman will feature a new take on the Riddler played by Prisoners and There Will be Blood actor Paul Dano, who in the trailer leaves Batman a particularly interesting card with an owl on the front. On the inside, it reads “Haven’t a clue? Let’s play a game just me and you.” While this could simply be one of the classic Riddler teases that we have seen for quite some time, I can’t help but feel as though there’s a deeper meaning to that card. It seems as though The Riddler may be laying out a roadmap for Batman that could lead him into an unfriendly destination. My ultimate theory is that The Riddler somehow discovered the Court and the crime scenes he’s left behind have ties to the Court themselves. He also tells Bruce Wayne late in the trailer that “you’re a part of this too” hinting that not only does the Riddler potentially know Bruce Wayne is Batman, but Bruce Wayne’s parents might have also had ties to the Court. To better understand The Riddler’s motives let’s take a look at just who The Court of Owls really are.
The Court of Owls
The Court of Owls is an ancient organization that has supposedly controlled Gotham through the shadows for Centuries. The Court is infamous for wearing owl masks and keeping their real faces covered. Their legends have been told through whispers dating back all the way to the 1600s. The reason they are a formidable antagonist is due to their power within the Gotham Police Department and their influence throughout the political world. They are made up of some of Gotham’s oldest and wealthiest families which gives them power through money. The other half of why the Court is so powerful is due to the relationship they have with the secret assassins called The Talons. Just like the Court, the Talons have been around for centuries dating back to the 1600s. The supreme loyalty the Talons have to the Court makes them a powerful force, so powerful that they almost killed Batman in the comics. The Court and the Talons together would make great villains of The Batman trilogy for a number of reasons.
Why The Court of Owls are the right villains for The Batman
Matt Reeves spoke a lot last year at DC Fandome about how The Batman was going to focus heavily on the corruption of Gotham. The lengths he and DC are going to build the lore of Gotham are pretty extensive. A reported Gotham PD show is in the works at HBO Max, Matt Reeves spoke about the show saying “the idea is we go back to Year One, and Year One is the beginning of the emergence and is the first appearance of this masked vigilante that starts to unsettle the city, and you start to see the story through the point of view of these corrupt cops and one in particular, and the story is actually a battle for his soul.” As we can see the theme of corruption around Gotham seems to be the main focus of not only The Batman but also the Gotham PD show. If corruption is the true theme of all things Batman to come, then The Court of Owls is the ultimate endgame to that. They are the supreme leaders in corruption and conspiracy around Gotham. Not only that but they are a true force of power with the loyalty they have with the Talons.
While nothing is confirmed, there have been many theories about the real villain behind The Batman. While at the beginning of the movie, The Riddler may be the villain, all of his sadistic murders could be for the sole purpose of showing Batman the path to The Court of Owls themselves. It seems for now we will have to keep guessing, as The Batman doesn’t premiere until March 4th, 2022.
Would you like to see The Court of Owls appear in The Batman? Leave a comment down below and let us know your thoughts!
