‘Batman: Knightfall’ Part 1 Storms Onto Digital with a Sky-High Popcornmeter Score

DC’s animated slate has taken viewers to some strange places lately, from a holiday-themed take on the Caped Crusader to Aztec reimaginings of Gotham’s mythology. For longtime fans who grew up on the moodier, more grounded tone of the ’90s DC Animated Universe, that stretch has felt like a mixed bag.

That’s exactly the gap ‘Batman: Knightfall’ – Part 1: Knightfall was built to fill. Directed by Jeff Wamester from a script by Jeremy Adams, the film adapts the first chapter of the iconic 1993-1994 comic arc that saw Bane break the Bat, and it arrived digitally on August 25, 2026, through Warner Bros. Animation and DC.

Now that audiences have had a chance to actually watch it, the numbers are in, and they’re striking. On Rotten Tomatoes, ‘Batman: Knightfall’ – Part 1 is currently holding a 97% Popcornmeter score from more than 50 user ratings, even as the critics’ Tomatometer sits at just 5 reviews so far.

The story picks up with Arkham Asylum in ruins and every inmate inside unleashed onto Gotham City. As Batman scrambles to recapture his most dangerous enemies one by one, he’s pushed to the brink of physical and mental collapse, setting the stage for a final showdown with a hulking new threat calling himself Bane.

Anson Mount leads the voice cast as Bruce Wayne and Batman, with Michael Mando as Bane and Pablo Schreiber as Jean-Paul Valley, the tormented vigilante who will eventually take up the Azrael mantle. Supporting players include David Dastmalchian as the Riddler, Bruce Boxleitner as Commissioner Gordon, and Simon Templeman as Alfred Pennyworth, rounding out a cast built to carry a story that spans three separate films.

Early reviews have zeroed in on just how unflinching this version of the story is. Reviewing the film for Get Your Comic On, critic Neil awarded it five stars, and the outlet’s review of the film noted that DC returns with one of its most confident animated movies in years.

Other critics have echoed that the film doesn’t pull punches, describing an opening stretch packed with brutal violence that firmly signals this is not a Batman story aimed at kids. That grim tone, paired with Studio Mir’s animation work and a script that trims down over 2,832 pages of comics into a tight character study, appears to be exactly what’s resonating with the Popcornmeter crowd, even as only a handful of critic reviews have rolled in so far.

Part 1 is only the beginning of a larger event. ‘Batman: Knightfall’ – Part 2: Knightquest is expected to arrive later in 2026, followed by Part 3: KnightsEnd in early 2027, meaning Valley’s descent into obsession and Bruce’s road back from Bane’s beating still have two more chapters to play out.

For a franchise that’s struggled to find consistent footing since ‘The Batman’ redefined the character on the big screen, a 97% audience score is a strong signal that this darker, comics-faithful approach might be the reset DC’s animated slate needed.

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