The Batman has the possibility to beat The Dark Knight Rises' divisive ending. Christopher Nolan's trilogy is heavily beloved, leaving heavy expectations on Matt Reeves' new film. That being said, one key element of both iterations already has the advantage over the other.
In The Dark Knight Rises, Selina Kyle/Catwoman makes her debut in Nolan's trilogy, played by Anne Hathaway. Starting out as a burglar with dubious morals and a search for a clean slate, Kyle comes to blows with Christian Bale's Batman before ultimately becoming his ally and lover. This transition from villain to hero is complete with her killing Dark Knight Rises' Bane. The film ends with Alfred seeing Bruce alive and well in Paris following his supposed death in Gotham, with Selina by his side.
In The Batman, Catwoman will be played by Zoë Kravitz, and her role seems to have the same enemy-to-ally transition as Hathaway's. However, the film will also function as an origin of sorts for Catwoman, and given this is likely the beginning of the story Matt Reeves intends to tell with the Caped Crusader, it also means there will be more room for the relationship between her and Batman to develop. As mentioned, The Dark Knight trilogy is adored by many. That being said, the ending of The Dark Knight Rises has been met with some contention. One such point of criticism is Bruce and Selina's relationship. Despite the two being a rather famous pairing in the Batman mythos, Nolan's trilogy capper does not give the relationship enough time to develop organically, and instead feels rushed. The Batman, by contrast, will have the two meet from the get-go and, should the film start a franchise, leave ample opportunity for the relationship to naturally grow.
What hurts Bruce and Selina getting together in The Dark Knight Rises is that she is introduced in the concluding chapter of a trilogy. Furthermore, after she betrays him to Bane in order to save her own life, the two are separated for a huge portion of the film before the final act. Had Nolan found a way to include Selina in the first two Dark Knight films or found a way to have the two share more screentime in Dark Knight Rises, the upgrade to a relationship would not feel so forced. With that in mind, it's clear in The Batman that Matt Reeves intends for the relationship between Batman and Catwoman to feature heavily in his iteration. It gets a lot of focus in the trailers (particularly the third one,) and it appears that the two will be working together quite a bit in the film. By doing this, Reeves already solidifies that if he were to conclude his take on Batman with him and Catwoman getting together, it will feel more earned and satisfying because the time was taken to build to it.
Overall, The Dark Knight Rises managed to bring Bruce Wayne's story to a satisfying conclusion, but aspects like his relationship with Selina certainly could've been done better. Now that The Batman will show Batman and Catwoman coming together again, it'll be interesting to see where Matt Reeves takes their relationship. The duo back on the big screen is one of the many things to be excited about as The Batman finally premieres in theaters.
