Matt Reeves is boldly forging a new cinematic incarnation of Batman, despite the fact that many fans consider Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy to be the definitive screen version of the character.
There’s always room for another interpretation of any source material, and where Nolan took the Caped Crusader’s mythology and made it so realistic that it could actually happen, Reeves appears to be stepping back into more comic book-y territory, albeit less so than Zack Snyder, who gave Batman the dangling powers of an actual bat. Now, here are 5 things that have been confirmed for The Batman in addition to 5 fan fheories.
Confirmed: Robert Pattinson will play Bruce Wayne
So far, the Batman of the DCEU has been an aging, grizzled Bruce Wayne who is desperate to hang up the cowl and get out of the superhero game. He’s been the Dark Knight for a long time, he’s suffered a number of losses (including Robin, at the hands of the Joker), and he’s getting sick of it.
Matt Reeves’ reboot of the character will be a refreshing change of pace. He’ll be 30 years old and new to the world of fighting crime. Robert Pattinson — best known for The Twilight Saga, but has made a name for himself with films like Good Time and The Lighthouse — has been cast to play Bruce Wayne in The Batman.
Fan theory: Batman will be inexperienced and prone to mistakes
Robert Pattinson’s incarnation of Batman – who has been termed “Battinson” by the fan base to differentiate him from his predecessor, “Batfleck” – will be 30 years old. Some fans have suspected that the filmmakers’ choice to depict a younger version of the character on the big screen is based on more than just the aesthetic.
Following Batfleck’s brutal, strikingly well-choreographed fight scenes, Battinson might be portrayed as far less experienced than him, with less proficiency in combat situations. He might even be prone to making mistakes as he begins his career as a superhero. This would be a new take on the character to set him apart.
Confirmed: Catwoman and the Riddler will appear
Paul Dano from There Will Be Blood and 12 Years a Slave has been cast to play the Riddler in the new Batman movie, while Zoë Kravitz from Mad Max: Fury Road and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been cast to play Catwoman, having previously voiced the character in The LEGO Batman Movie.
It’s also been reported that Colin Farrell is in talks to play the Penguin in the movie, but a deal hasn’t been made yet. If the Penguin does appear, then The Batman will break the franchise’s tradition of having two villains facing off against the Dark Knight.
Fan theory: Alfred will get in on the action
Matt Reeves recently cast Andy Serkis – with whom he worked on the last two Planet of the Apes movies – to play Bruce Wayne’s butler and sort-of father figure Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman. Serkis is younger than the traditional portrayal of Alfred as a frail old man, which could suggest that Alfred will get in on the action in The Batman.
He won’t necessarily get a costume and join the fight against the villains like he did in The LEGO Batman Movie, but he won’t just hang around Wayne Manor and make tea like he did in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.
Confirmed: It’ll be released on June 25, 2021
After spending a long time in development – losing its star and possible director Ben Affleck along the way – the DCEU’s Batman solo movie has finally been given a release date: June 25, 2021. The Batman will face box office competition from the third Jurassic World movie, arriving a couple of weeks earlier.
In the coming weeks, it’ll square off against the fifth Indiana Jones movie and the sequel to the animated musical Sing. The real competition will arrive on July 16 when another highly anticipated superhero blockbuster, the Tom Holland-starring sequel to this year’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, is hitting theaters.
Fan theory: It’s a hard-boiled detective story
Batman’s detective skills have barely been shown on the big screen, and yet they’re a huge part of the character in the comics. He even carries the nickname “World’s Greatest Detective.” The Arkham games have done a fantastic job of showcasing the Dark Knight’s skills as a detective.
Matt Reeves has said that The Batman will have overtones of the film noir, and film noirs are usually hard-boiled detective stories, which has led a lot of fans to assume that The Batman will be a hard-boiled detective story, too. The arrival of Catwoman, Batman’s femme fatale, has only added fuel to that fire.
Confirmed: It won’t be an origin story
We all know Batman’s origin story. It’s one of the most well-known origins in comic book history, and it’s been portrayed on the big screen a bunch of times – in the Burton movies, in the Nolan movies, crammed into Zack Snyder’s already-overstuffed Batman v Superman.
Joker even featured the first part of Batman’s origin story when (SPOILER ALERT!) a criminal in a clown mask inspired by Arthur Fleck shot and killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. Like Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Batman is going to skip the origin story that we already know and jump right into Bruce Wayne’s career as a young superhero.
Fan theory: It’s part of a soft reboot of the DCEU
For the past couple of years, Warner Bros. and DC have been throwing all kinds of experimental projects at the wall – a dark R-rated character study of a villain, a comedy in the vein of Big with superpowers etc. – and they seem to be figuring out what works and what doesn’t work.
Now that the studios have felt out which parts of the DCEU are workable, they might be slowly reintroducing interconnected elements in a soft reboot. So, while Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman are still in for obvious reasons, Robert Pattinson’s Batman could be brought in to replace Ben Affleck’s Batman in a larger plan.
Confirmed: It’s the first part of a trilogy
The Batman is intended to be the first chapter of a new Batman trilogy. Warner Bros. shifted away from Tim Burton’s vision after two movies and the audience shifted away from Joel Schumacher’s vision after another two movies, making Christopher Nolan the only director who has successfully finished a Batman trilogy in the past.
With any luck, Matt Reeves will become the second to do so. It’s unclear if Reeves will return to tackle the second and third parts of the trilogy, but if he’s writing and directing The Batman as the first film in a trilogy, it stands to reason that intends to complete that trilogy.
Fan theory: Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker will appear
Given the runaway success of Todd Phillips’ Joker movie, despite its intentions to be unconnected from the wider DCEU, some fans have suspected that Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker will appear in The Batman. Phoenix is 45 years old and Joker is set in 1981, so if his Joker does appear in The Batman, there’s a chance that he won’t be taking on Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight in hand-to-hand combat.
But then, Batman and the Joker have never really been a physical match for each other. The Joker is more of an ideological and intellectual enemy to the Bat. We shouldn’t rule out Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime making a surprise appearance as the mastermind behind everything.
