Batman: Knightfall Rises as a Multi-Part Animated Epic
The Dark Knight’s most punishing saga is getting animated: DC is adapting Batman: Knightfall—the arc that unleashed Bane and shattered Batman’s back—into a multi-part epic.
Well, they finally went there. Warner Bros. is turning Batman: Knightfall into a multi-part animated event. If you know the comics, that name probably just made your spine twinge a little. If you don’t: this is the Bane one. The back-breaking one.
What they announced
The reveal dropped at New York Comic-Con during the Art Knight: Batman in Animation panel, with Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment all in on it. The first chapter has a very straightforward title: Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall. It’s already in production and aiming for 2026. Casting? Not announced yet.
- Format: Multi-part animated event
- Part 1 title: Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall
- Release window: 2026
- Voice cast: TBD
- Director: Jeff Wamester
- Writer: Jeremy Adams
- Supervising producer: Rick Morales
- Producers: Jim Krieg, Kimberly S. Moreau
- Executive producers: Sam Register, Michael Uslan
So, which Knightfall are we talking about?
Knightfall isn’t just one story, it’s a whole arc that originally rolled out as a trilogy: Knightfall, Knightquest, and KnightsEnd. This adaptation is starting with the obvious first chunk. The basic setup: Bane shows up, opens the doors at Arkham, and lets basically the entire Rogues Gallery run wild at once. Batman chases villains until there’s nothing left in the tank, and then Bane comes in for the kill. That infamous panel where Batman gets literally broken over Bane’s knee? That’s this era.
In the comics, what came after was just as messy: with Bruce out of commission and paraplegic, he taps Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael) to wear the cowl. Jean-Paul’s Batman gets meaner and more unstable by the week, and Gotham notices. The brand takes a hit. The fact that they’re calling this a multi-part thing suggests they’re not stopping at just the break.
Why this matters (and what it isn’t)
They’ve never done a straight-up, panel-for-panel Knightfall adaptation before. Pieces of it have been everywhere though, most famously in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, which borrowed the Bane showdown and the whole breaking-and-rebuilding arc but did its own movie-logic version of it. This one could finally tackle the Jean-Paul Valley chapter properly, which is a big swing for animation and very comics-head friendly. Also, that’s a lot of producers, which usually means WB Animation is treating it like a flagship.
Meanwhile, over in live-action Gotham...
Matt Reeves is moving ahead with his sequel to The Batman. The script is done, cameras are expected to roll next year, and the vibe is still: secretive. Reeves has teased the villain as someone who has, in his words:
"never really been done in a movie before."
Robert Pattinson is back under the cowl. It’s also expected (not officially locked, but expected) that Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell return as Jim Gordon, Alfred, and the Penguin. There’s also chatter that Tobias Menzies is circling a role. Farrell says he’s read the script and found it surprisingly emotional while still working as a big, pulpy Gotham crime story. Which, given the first film, checks out.
Bottom line: animation is finally taking a proper run at one of Batman’s most bruising storylines, and live-action is quietly loading up for round two. 2026 can’t come fast enough.