The trailer for The Batman from DC FanDome 2021 proves that Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne will have to fight Scarecrow and his fear toxin before the end of the trilogy to be able to properly evolve. The Batman promises to take the dark knight to new places in a world that has evolving opinions on how policing can or should be done. However, Matt Reeves’ particularly dark take on Batman presents a problem with how to have the character arc develop in a fulfilling way.

The Batman trailer shows a darker, grittier take on the caped crusader than has been shown before with his wrath on display while he faces off against a brutal serial killer version of The Riddler. Two points make this particularly notable. His iconic “I’m Batman” or “I’m justice” lines have been replaced with “I’m vengeance,” suggesting that his mission is fueled by anger and hatred rather than making Gotham better. Similarly, he talks about how the Bat-Signal is a symbol to be feared by Gotham’s criminals rather than its traditional position as a symbol of hope for Gotham’s civilians.

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While this angry, vengeful Batman who trades in fear works for a dark origin story for the character by making Bruce Wayne an anti-hero, he cannot remain this way throughout Pattinson’s Batman movie trilogy without simply becoming a completely different character. For him to become the Batman that Gotham needs and deserves, he will have to evolve and make some serious changes. The most logical way for this to come about would be for him to face off against Jonathan Crane’s Scarecrow persona. Scarecrow’s villainous and wonton application of fear and trauma to reach his pursuits mirroring Robert Pattinson’s Batman can make this Bruce Wayne see the error in his approach and switch to a more honorable tactic and end goal.

Robert Pattinson Batman Trailer

Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins trilogy was a dark and gritty reboot of the adaptations that had come before like the Adam West Batman TV series or Tim Burton’s Batman movies and presented Batman as an angrier, more aggressive figure. However, Matt Reeves’ The Batman goes a step further and removes any of the remaining whimsy. This is particularly evident in the casting of Andy Serkis as a disconcerting and troubled Alfred Pennyworth who lacks the joviality that even Michael Caine’s Alfred brought to the movies.

This necessity to include Scarecrow in the Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves’ trilogy poses a problem for the movies. While many comic characters have been rebooted and revived countless times, the last three decades have already seen a lot of memorable appearances of Scarecrow. From his multiple appearances in Batman: The Animated Series, to Cillian Murphy’s Jonathan Crane role being the only villain that appears in every one of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, to Vincent Kartheiser’s oddball approach to Scarecrow in Titans season 3, to even his recurring appearances in the Arkham video games. This means that The Batman will struggle to find a fresh and interesting take on a character that has become so ubiquitous with Batman and has already seen darker versions created.

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