Report: Follow-up to Batman: Arkham City to be a prequel

Given the blockbuster success of its earlier efforts, it shouldn't be too surprising that Rocksteady is probably working on a follow-up to Batman: Arkham City. But despite its cliffhanger ending, the next game may take a break from those plot threads and go all the way back the Silver Age of comics.

Variety (via IGN) reports that the next game from Warner Bros and Rocksteady will be a prequel, detailing Batman's first encounter with the Joker. It's said to be styled more after the 1950s era comics, when Batman would often team up with other DC superheroes. It would be due in 2014 at the earliest.

This is reportedly part of a larger effort from DC to team up their characters across different types of media, from the newly relaunched Justice League comic book to the variety of superheroes in Lego Batman 2. All of this is to lay the groundwork for a Justice League film, especially after The Avengers was a hit at the box office.

This move could be a handy way to get around the difficulties of having Joker appear again, but the Arkham series created very stylized, dark versions of the characters. Depending on just how close Rocksteady hews to Silver age silliness, it may not please fans who are used to a more brooding Batman.