The Batman's New Release Date Is Perfect For Its Story

Matt Reeves' The Batman has officially been pushed back four months to a date that is better suited for the movie than its original release date. Reeves is gearing up to create a never-before-seen interpretation of the character, one that addresses his place as a billionaire in contemporary society while also diving into the pathos of what makes a man become a vigilante. The cast for The Batman is a remarkable one, with Robert Pattinson playing the titular Caped Crusader while other critical darlings round out the supporting roles, including Paul Dano as The Riddler, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffery Wright as James Gordon, and many more.

Production began on The Batman back in January, with a planned release date of June 25, 2021. Set photos and reveals from the production included a scene of Bruce Wayne being attacked by a mob of muggers and chase sequences featuring Pattinson's Batman stunt double on a motorcycle, but unfortunately, production came to a halt as a result of the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic. According to Reeves himself, The Batman was only able to shoot 25% of the entire project before being shut down.

Now, Warner Bros. has delayed The Batman to October 1, 2021, mid-way through the fall season and eerily close to Halloween. This change is a welcome one, as despite the success that comic book movies generally tend to have in the summer, Batman and particularly the story that this film seems to be following draws a heavy connotation to Halloween, given that the film will be at least partly inspired by the famous comic book story, The Long Halloween.

Reeves has repeatedly talked about how his Batman will differ from previous cinematic incarnations, and one of the main traits that he aims to tackle is the Dark Knight Detective's deductive reasoning skills. The Batman is distinctly a neo-noir-styled detective film, and Dano's casting as The Riddler seems to confirm this. As Batman fans know, one of the greatest stories within the character's wide pantheon of lore is Batman: The Long Halloween, written by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, which follows Batman as he unravels a brutal series of killings that start on Halloween night and continue throughout different holidays across a year-long period. While there's no indication that The Batman will be a straight adaptation of The Long Halloween, the similarities are there enough for the new release date to highlight the unsettling atmosphere of the story.

Aside from the similarities between the film and the source material, the October release date may also simply compliment the movie's dark tone. The first look at Pattinson's Batman came in an ominous camera test, with the actor bathed in a sinister red light while Michael Giacchino's brooding score played in the background. All of the elements of the suit reveal seem to suggest that the overall tone of the movie will once again be dark and ominous, with crime and corruption choking out the lifeblood of Gotham City. The new release date can help the movie sell this tone, with the changing of the seasons and the close proximity to Halloween helping to do so.

While it's unfortunate that Reeves' The Batman had to be pushed back, it's also entirely understandable why, and a smart business move on the part of Warner Bros. Now the film has a proper production schedule to work with once the COVID-19 crisis simmers down, and on top of this, the October release date helps to establish the mood and atmosphere that The Batman aims to bring to the character and his world. Plus, The Batman can do just as well in October as it would've in June - just look at how well Joker performed in the same time period in 2019.

Next: The Batman Is Now The First Dark Knight Movie To Release In The Fall