Bane Confirmed As Main Villain In Upcoming Batman Movie

Bane is going to be the main villain of the next Batman movie, but he is far from the only DC foe that will appear to mess with the Dark Knight. DC has multiple Batman projects lined up, with Bruce Wayne set to appear in both animation and live-action over the next few years. The Batman 2 updates should soon start to emerge.

With its script being written, the DCU’s The Brave and the Bold Batman reboot is another likely project to see some movement soon. However, none of the live-action Batman movies are set to be the next film release for the hero. Instead, Batman is coming to animation in 2026 in a big way, with one of his best villains playing a key role.

Bane Will Be The Main Villain Of A New Batman Movie Saga

Warner Bros. Animation

After 2025 saw the release of an animated Batman movie, the Elseworlds story seen in Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires, 2026 will see the start of a new saga for the character, which will also exist outside the canon of James Gunn’s DC Universe. Surprisingly, DC has announced not one, but four movies to adapt the Batman: Knightfall comics arc.

The first of them is titled Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall. The upcoming DC movie was given a 2026 release window, though a specific date has yet to be announced. Knightfall is the classic comic book storyline that saw Bane break Batman’s back. As such, DC has confirmed that Bane will be the Batman movie’s main villain.

That was made clear in the official synopsis for the film, which revealed that Bane is going to free “Batman’s entire Rogue’s Gallery from Arkham Asylum.” DC has yet to reveal who will voice Bane and the rest of the movie’s characters at this time. However, the announcement is confirmation that Bane will once again be key to a Batman movie.

DC Has Already Made Bane The Main Villain Of A Successful Knightfall Adaptation Before

Bane (Tom Hardy) addresses the people of Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises

While the 2026 Batman movie will be the first time that DC directly adapts Knightfall, elements from that storyline were key to Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film, 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. Like happens in the comics, Tom Hardy’s Bane broke the back of Christian Bale’s Batman and threw Gotham City into chaos, rising to control it.

While The Dark Knight Rises features more connections to Knightfall, it is not a direct adaptation, bearing many differences. For instance, Azrael and his plot of subbing in as Batman during Bruce’s absence were completely removed from the film. I’m excited about DC’s next Batman movie because of the potential a full-on Knightfall adaptation has, and Bane has everything to shine.