As The Dark Knight Rises continues to film in New York, the buzz for Batman fans is fully on Batman: Arkham City, the acclaimed followup to 2009’s video game smash Arkham Asylum. Dense, action-packed, and featuring a storyline written by Batman comic book and animation scribe Paul Dini, Arkham City debuted to rave reviews and more than 2 million copies sold in its first week.  

With talk that Arkham City is the best Batman video game ever, it’s only a matter of time before Hollywood takes notice. Warner Bros. hasn’t discussed plans for Batman after The Dark Knight Rises, opting instead to let Christopher Nolan end his trilogy gracefully before planning another reboot. It’s safe to say, though, that Batman won’t lay dormant for long.

So how will Warner Bros. inject fresh blood into the franchise post-Nolan? Where will they find a grim and gritty story worthy of Nolan’s films? The answer is currently rocketing up the video game sales charts. Here are 5 reasons Arkham City is begging to be adapted for the big screen.

The storyline is cinematic.

Arkham City
features a dark, intense storyline that is tailor-made for
the big screen. Following the events of the previous game, part of
Gotham City has been sectioned off to make room for Arkham City, an
open-air prison for the criminally insane that houses Gotham’s most
dangerous criminals. While the first game’s setting in Arkham Asylum was
creepily claustrophobic, the sequel turns Gotham itself into a house of
horrors. The mixture of story missions and free-roaming brings Gotham
City to life and offers a gaming experience rich with
cinematic mood. Also, the idea of Batman forced to punch his way out of
an insane asylum filled with super-criminals is enough to sustain at
least three more movies. 

It portrays Batman as a detective.

As great as the Christopher Nolan movies may be, they rarely showcase Batman’s investigative skills. (There’s a reason he first appeared in Detective Comics.) But in addition to having him crack the skulls of random thugs, a large portion of Arkham City and its predecessor is devoted to good old-fashioned detective work. Using high-tech gadgets, the Batman in Arkham City scans crime scenes in search of clues. This CSI approach
to superheroics is the next logical step for Batman on the big screen.
He can only get so far in his pursuit of information by dangling bad
guys off buildings. 

While The Dark Knight Rises
is likely to blow away box office records, Batman’s cinematic future is
nebulous beyond next summer. Once Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, and
the rest of the Dark Knight Rises crew has moved on, it will be
hard to get moviegoers interested in another Batman franchise with fresh
talent and a new director. So why not adapt a proven hit with a rabid
fanbase? Arkham City and Arkham Asylum are beloved by
Batman fans and gamers. Their popularity has done far more to keep
Batman’s profile up between movies than the various comic books and
cartoons he also appears in. Young and old love the game, which means
more fans for the Batman franchise. With Hollywood all about
established brands these days, this one’s a twofer — a beloved comic
book character and a hit game. Plus, it would nice to have a big-screen adaptation of a video game that isn’t completely unwatchable. 

Everyone from Catwoman to Nightwing turns up.

Arkham
City expands Batman’s world to include appearances from villains like
Harley Quinn, Penguin, Deadshot, and more. Thanks to downloadable extra
content, you can even play as Catwoman and Nightwing, aka the former Robin
Dick Grayson. Each character is worked into the story seamlessly,
creating a Gotham City brimming with favorites. Since the
previous Batman films have gotten origin stories for several major
characters out of the way, it would be fun to enter a story where Robin, Catwoman, and the rest are already active and established. Arkham City places the player into a Gotham on the brink of chaos. Luckily, Batman has some allies to keep him company along the way. 

Hugo Strange makes a good nemesis.

Dr.
Hugo Strange, the twisted psychiatrist who runs Arkham City, is the
game’s main antagonist. When the game opens, he’s captured Bruce Wayne
and tossed him into Arkham City to fend off murderous thugs. His
experiments on prisoners are revealed throughout the game’s story,
adding to the creep factor of his intense character. Strange, who is
portrayed in the comics as being obsessed with Batman, was rumored to be
a major villain in The Dark Knight Rises. Since we’re not likely to see him onscreen next summer, an Arkham City movie may be a good way to introduce this admittedly lesser-known supervillain.