Matt Reeves shares plot information about The Batman and how the film will tackle Bruce Wayne's origin story as the Caped Crusader. Robert Pattinson will debut as the next iteration of the iconic DC character in the upcoming standalone film. While the actor came into the role after Ben Affleck's exit, this new iteration will exist outside of established DCEU canon.

Pattinson is joined in the project by a star-studded line-up of stars, including Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Andy Serkis as Alfred. Filming for The Batman was in full swing earlier this year when it was forced to shut down due to health concerns because of the coronavirus pandemic. But prior to that, Reeves had already revealed official content from the film, including the first look at the titular character further exciting fans. Narrative-wise, The Batman will see Wayne in his second year as the Caped Crusader.

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During the movie's special DC FanDome panel, Reeves talked quite extensively about what fans can expect from the film — that includes pertinent plot details. According to the director, The Batman will tackle how Wayne figures out how to be the Cape Crusader in a way that he can make a significant difference in Gotham City. Part of Reeves' elaborate explanation of The Batman's plot can be read below:

You know the whole idea this is all an experiment in the movie. The idea that we're in Year 2, it's the Gotham experiment, it's a criminal logical experiment, trying to figure out what he can do to finally change this place. And in our story, as he's in that mode. That's where you meet him and you see that he's charting what he's doing and he doesn't seem to have any effect that he wants to happen. And that is when the murders start to happen, and then the murders begin to describe sort of the history of Gotham in a way that only reinforces what he knows about Gotham, but it opens up a whole new world of corruption that goes much farther. But as that story starts to come out, without being an origin tale for him, it ends up being something that touches on his origins. So you start to describe this epic history of corruption in Gotham that you start to understand 'well, where did my family sit in that' and in that sense... is a way to take a story, a point-of-view story, a mystery. It's got, of course, action, and all that kind of stuff, but at the end of it, it's incredibly personal for him even though it's in the story where he's trying to understand and unravel this mystery.

Robert Pattinson in The Batman Movie DC FanDome Trailer

It's quite surprising that Reeves was willing to say that much about The Batman's story. In the age of spoiler-free marketing, most, if not all high-profile films, plot details are tightly kept under wraps and are saved for the movie itself. While the director provided the public important plot details, he framed it in a way that the biggest mysteries of the narrative are still preserved. Instead, it only gives fans a better idea of the movie's premise so they have a good understanding of how this version of the Caped Crusader is different from its predecessors. It's also a good way to entice the general movie-going audience as they can decide whether the narrative interests them or not.

Reeves' decision to shake-up the traditional origins for Batman means that his movie can still tackle the brutal murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne but not make it the initial focus of the narrative. From what the director has revealed, it sounds like instead of seeking personal revenge, Wayne will be focused on wanting to make Gotham better. Seeing him figure out the best way to do this would be a character struggle that's barely tackled in any of the previous iterations of the hero, effectively making The Batman unique and refreshing for fans.

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Source: DC FanDome

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