Matt Reeves' The Batman has for long been in pre-production, but it seems that fans are finally beginning to get more of a full picture of the director's upcoming take on the character. In August, fans were treated to the first trailer for the highly-anticipated DCEU film, which will star Robert Pattinson as the titular dark knight.
Reeve's The Batman will be the sixth major cinematic iteration of the character, as Pattison joins the ranks of Batman actors, including Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck.
The Setting Of The Batman
In August, at DC Fandome, Reeves unveiled the first trailer for The Batman, confirming that his version of the character's world will be a gritty noir take, centered around a series of gruesome murders and Gotham's history of corruption. The trailer revealed that the central villain is to be The Riddler, played by Paul Dano.
The Cast Of The Batman
After Ben Affleck made his exit from The Batman, many fans and critics began to speculate about the next actor to don the cowl. Rumors starting flying around the web that The Lighthouse star Robert Pattinson might be up for it, and in May 2019, it was confirmed that the actor would play Bruce Wayne in Reeves' film. As the months passed, more notable names joined Reeves' cast. Zoe Kravitz plays Selina Kyle (Catwoman), Westworld and The Hunger Games' Jeffrey Wright will play Jim Gordon, Paul Dano is involved as the Riddler, and Colin Farrell has also signed on to take on a new version of the Penguin. Taking over the reins from Jeremy Irons as Alfred is The Lord of The Rings' Andy Serkis. That's not all; The Batman will also feature other cast members, including John Turturro (Carmine Falcone), Peter Sarsgaard, Con O' Neill, Alex Furns, and more.
Behind The Camera
On the other side of the camera, Reeves' crew includes director of photography, Greig Fraser, editors William Hoy and Tyler Nelson, with production designer James Chinlund and Jacqueline Durran as the costume designer.
Reeves is also on production along with Dylan Clark. Executive producers include Simon Emanuel, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong, and Michael Uslan. Michael Giacchino will helm the film's score.
The Plot Of The Batman
In several interviews over the past few months, Reeves has touted The Batman as an original story for the caped crusader. However, the number of characters and villains set to appear in the film has lead many fans and critics to believe that Reeves might be borrowing inspiration from Batman: The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Batman: The Long Halloween follows closely on after the events of Batman: Year One and pits Batman in a quest to find out the identity of a serial killer known as Holiday. In early interviews, Reeves has cited that he wants to put a massive emphasis on Batman as the world's greatest detective. This is a particularly downplayed aspect of the character in previous Batman cinematic outings. Reeves also, at FanDome, stated that noir films such as Chinatown had been a huge inspiration for his approach to The Batman.
The Look And Feel Of The Batman
Earlier this year, Warner Bros revealed the official costume in a short video. The suit features a stripped-down, off the shelf aesthetic, which is a welcome change from Batfleck and the Nolan-Batman. The cowl itself, for the first time, is made of fabric and many have speculated that the bat symbol in The Batman is made from the gun which Joe Chill uses to kill the Waynes. Set pics that followed offered a closer look at the cowl, which seems to have been inspired by Dick Sprang and Carmine Infantino's Silver Age look of the Dark Knight. Back in March, fans got the first glimpse of The Batman's Batmobile. Leaving behind the more outlandish designs of past films, The Batman features a muscle car with special modifications.
Where in the DCEU Does The Batman Take Place?
Despite Matt Reeves' The Batman appearing to have all the evidence touting a reboot, The Batman's place in Warner Bros' oh-so-loose continuity is currently still unconfirmed. During the film's early months in production, Reeves suggested that the film could take place out of continuity, much like Joker.
However, in later interviews, Reeves retracted his statement by saying that The Batman might have some links and maybe even a cameo or two from previous Warner Bros iterations of the bat.
The Villains
During a panel at DC FanDome, Matt Reeves stated that The Batman will explore the early iterations of several villains, including The Riddler, The Penguin, and Carmine Falcone. However, the film will have more emphasis on Edward Nashton as the antagonist. As for Catwoman, Zoë Kravitz's Selina Kyle has yet to become the villain, or better yet, the anti-hero fans know her as.
Could Matt Reeves Helm A Batman Trilogy?
Matt Reeves stepped up to direct the new solo Batman film back when Ben Affleck departed from the project, which back then would have told an early tale of Batfleck's version of the character.
It's possible that Reeve's The Batman film could lead to a potential new trilogy for DC's popular character.
When Is The Batman Set?
Much like Tim Burton's first foray into the DC universe with 1989's Batman, Matt Reeves' highly anticipated The Batman won't focus on the origins of how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. Instead, Reeves' bat flick will tell a story more than a year and a half into Pattinson's Bruce Wayne turned Dark Knight.
When Is The Batman Being Released?
Initially, The Batman was slated for release on June 21, 2021, but was moved to a later date, March 4 2022, due to production being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.