It’s been four years since the big screen was graced by Batman. That’s a looooong time for fans of the Caped Crusader, who have been spoiled with 11 very different films since Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster ushered in modern superhero cinema. Now, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel: Warner Bros. is set to release the latest Batman adventure in early 2022.
“Light” is a bit misleading. Anyone still bemoaning the dark-and-gritty reinvention of superhero cinema following Christopher Nolan’s game-changing Dark Knight trilogy take heed: The upcoming reboot, titled The Batman, looks to make Nolan’s Gotham City look like Sesame Street. Newly minted Bruce Wayne Robert Pattinson will navigate a noir-tinged, rain-soaked city where gangs of clowns stalk the shadows and gangsters run amok. This is a place where light seems too scared to shine.
Adam West this isn’t. Here’s everything we know about the hugely anticipated The Batman.
When does The Batman come out?
After years in development, a long shoot in the UK and multiple COVID-related delays – including a diagnosis for Pattinson himself – The Batman is set to be released on March 4, 2022. That release, however, includes a Riddler-sized question mark as studios once again shuffle their release dates amid the ongoing pandemic. Fingers crossed.
Is there a Batman trailer?
The first full trailer for The Batman dropped during DC’s recent Fandome event, and the film promises to really exemplify the ‘dark’ in Dark Knight.
During the course of the extended trailer, we get a solid look at the upcoming rogues gallery, including profile shots of Paul Dano’s Riddler and footage of Colin Farrell as kingpin The Penguin. We’re also treated to many shots of Zoë Kravitz as Batman’s frenemy Catwoman.
But of course, the real star is Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne/Batman, who we glimpse brooding, racing around Gotham and taking on countless baddies while dodging bullets and explosions. It’s hyper-stylised and points to a much angstier and more violent vision of the young Batman.
To put a finer point on the angrier take on Batman, Pattinson delivers an instantly iconic line referencing the Bat Signal: “It’s not just a signal. It’s a warning.”
The new trailer is much more action-packed than the extremely grim trailer released last year.
What is The Batman about?
Plot details are sparse, but the film will take place in Batman’s second year of vigilante justice as he seeks to eradicate corruption and strike fear into the criminal underworld. The film will likely take a cue from Spider-man: Homecoming and forego the frequently retold tale of Batman’s origins, plunging viewers directly into the story, assuming that they already know all about his dead parents and anger issues. Expect it to reckon with Bruce Wayne’s billionaire status in an increasingly class-divided city.
The primary antagonist is one of the mainstays of Batman’s rogues gallery: The Riddler. He’s typically portrayed as a dapper genius in a neon-green suit, but The Batman is giving the villain a makeover that’s about as far removed from Jim Carrey’s high-camp Batman Forever styling as you can get.
Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, Prisoners) will play the newly terrifying villain, who ditches the loud outfits in favour of military duds, among them a thick cold-weather face mask that looks positively horrifying, especially with the villain’s signature specs dangling from the eye holes.
Who is directing The Batman?
Initially, Batman V. Superman Caped Crusader Ben Affleck was attached to write and direct the film, but the Argo and The Town filmmaker bailed on the project amid the wreckage of Justice League, citing Bat-fatigue.
Now, The Batman will be helmed by Matt Reeves, who knows a thing or two about staging action-packed spectacles balanced with high stakes, intense emotions and utmost seriousness. The director broke out with the found-footage hit Cloverfield before moving on to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, both of which successfully reimagined the campy sci-fi series as white-knuckle action films featuring groundbreaking special effects and surprising heart.
He also helmed Let Me In, a mostly effective remake of Swedish vampire classic Let the Right One In. In a short filmography, Reeves has proven he’s capable of handling complex outsiders and extended stories. A solid fit for Batman, in other words.
What should we expect from Robert Pattinson’s Batman/Bruce Wayne?
Batman/Bruce Wayne comes in many flavours, from Adam West’s ’60s goofiness to Michael Keaton’s jittery eccentricity and Christian Bale’s glowering righteousness. Val Kilmer played it cool, Ben Affleck depicted him as a brutish egotist and George Clooney played him as George Clooney. But in Pattinson, we could finally get a balanced performance that examines the wounded duality between the billionaire and the fearsome brawler.
Anyone still identifying Pattinson with Cedric Diggory or Edward Cullen should stop what they’re doing and immediately watch Good Time, High Life, The Lighthouse or The Lost City of Z. The Brit is a brilliant character actor masquerading as a dashing leading man. Given Batman’s shifts between his public persona, his grief and his explosive anger, Pattinson’s proven track record with emotionally complex men driven by extreme circumstances seems a perfect fit. Seeing how Pattinson puts his stamp on the Bat is every bit as intriguing as anything Dano’s character is up to.
“I kind of like the fact that not only are there very, very, very well-done versions of the character which seem pretty definitive, but I was thinking that there are multiple definitive playings of the character,” Pattinson told GQ last year. “You’ve seen this sort of lighter version, you’ve seen a kind of jaded version, a kind of more animalistic version. And the puzzle of it becomes quite satisfying, to think: where’s my opening? And also, do I have anything inside me which would work if I could do it? And then also, it’s a legacy part, right? I like that.”
Who else is in The Batman?
The high-profile film has been a magnet for actors, and as with Nolan’s iteration, the supporting cast is packed with acclaimed actors and a who’s-who of “that guys”.
In addition to Dano, Kravitz and Farrell – who recently said he only appears in a few scenes under heavy prosthetics – Jeffrey Wright (Westworld, the Bond movies) is on hand to play longtime Batman ally Commissioner Gordon, with Peter Sarsgaard stepping in as Gil Colson, who serves as Gotham’s district attorney… a job that hasn’t traditionally ended in happy retirement in these films.
The Batman will also include a newer, younger and more battle-worn take on Batman’s butler Alfred, most recently played by Jeremy Irons and Michael Caine. Andy Serkis – best known for his motion-capture work as Lord of the Rings‘ Gollum and in Reeves’ Apes series – will show up in the flesh to assist Pattinson. Finally, John Turturro will appear as crime boss Carmine Falcone, last played by Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins.
What will the tone of The Batman be?
The Lego Batman Movie this is not, but in a lot of ways it seems like Will Arnett’s character was parodying The Batman before Reeves’s film was even announced. Words like “raw”, “dark”, “uncompromising” and “brutal” have been bandied about.
Still, Reeves has promised that this is a detective film that will borrow elements from Affleck’s original script, which was said to take inspiration from The Maltese Falcon and other classic gumshoe flicks.
“I think there’s a chance to do an almost noir-driven, detective version of Batman that is point of view driven in a very, very powerful way that is hopefully going to connect you to what’s going inside of his head, and inside of his heart,” Reeves said in an interview with New Trailer Buzz and carried by ScreenRant way back in 2017, when he first signed on.
There are also some serious David Fincher vibes involved, with the plot suggesting the influence of Seven and the Riddler’s modus operandi taking a cue from Zodiac. Throw in an old-school crime-film vibe courtesy of Gotham’s mob scene and a visual aesthetic that balances darkness with pops of grindhouse-inspired primary colours and you’ve got quite a mishmash of tones on display.
Will there be a new Batmobile?
“Where does he get those wonderful toys?” Jack Nicholson’s Joker quipped in Tim Burton’s 1989 game-changer. From the looks of The Batman, it’s the same place Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto gets his rides. Gone is Bale’s military-grade Tumbler and Affleck’s bullet-spraying street tank. Pattinson will cruise around in a souped-up, vintage-inspired muscle car. And honestly, it’s pretty a pretty solid, if unexpected, choice that tracks with the character. No word yet on whether other iconic pieces of Bat-gadgetry like the Batwing, the Bat Boat or the famous Bat Shark Repellent will make an appearance.
Will this connect to the larger DC Extended Universe?
After Justice League failed to make an Avengers-level impact – and following the standalone success of Todd Phillips’ take on Joker – The Batman seems to be doing its thing independent of the larger DC world. That means Pattinson’s Batman will operate in a more grounded world separate from Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn.
For those who prefer their Batmen to be encircled by colourful chaos and super-humans, there are sillier things ahead for the character. It director Andy Muschietti is hard at work on The Flash, which will continue the adventures of Ezra Miller’s Justice League hero. Given about 85 percent of new superhero films are now required to feature a multiverse element, the movie will see Flash interacting with some familiar faces from Gotham’s past, as Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck are both confirmed to appear as their respective versions of the Dark Knight.
However, there are reports of multiple TV series tie-ins to The Batman. HBO Max, which is the online home to all things DC, is currently experimenting with tie-in show to its biggest comic-book properties: a limited series starring John Cena’s The Suicide Squad breakout Peacemaker on deck for 2022. The Batman will follow suit. That includes the confirmed Gotham PD, which will focus on Wright’s Gordon and serve as a prequel to the film. The series will likely follow a similar structure to Fox’s tepidly received Gotham.
Additionally, Reeves and JJ Abrams are developing a new successor to the beloved Batman: The Animated Series titled Batman: Caped Crusader. There is also considerable buzz surrounding a rumoured spinoff about Farrell’s Penguin, though details are sparse.
