The Batman star Robert Pattinson has compared a key element of the new film to the 1993 fan-favorite animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Fans are eagerly awaiting an entirely new interpretation of the caped crusader from Pattinson and director Matt Reeves. This new take on the mythos will see Pattinson play Bruce Wayne just two years into his career as the Batman as he faces the emergence of a masked serial killer known as the Riddler. The debut of a new Batman has inevitably led fans down memory lane, reflecting on prior incarnations of the character, wondering how Pattinson’s Dark Knight will compare and what influences the actor may take.
One beloved version of the Caped Crusader comes from the 90’s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, created by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm and featuring Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman. Airing from 1992 to 1995, this series brought the Dark Knight’s adventures to the small screen with mature and thoughtful writing underscored with a pulpy, noir tone. The series spawned “The DC Animated Universe” and has been recognized by fans as one of the best, if not the definitive, takes on Batman and his cast of supporting characters. The series received a theatrical film in 1993 with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, a murder mystery that saw Batman throw down with the Joker (Mark Hamill), as well as an all-new antagonist, the Phantasm. The film underperformed at the box office due to a lack of marketing but was well-received critically, with some fans even calling it a superior feature to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
In an interview with Premiere France (via @TheBatmanFilm_), actor Robert Pattinson compared the psychological exploration of Bruce Wayne in The Batman to that seen in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Pattinson commented on how The Batman presents the conflicted, tortuous nature of Bruce Wayne’s relationship with his alter ego as opposed to other film versions over the years that have focused on his nature as strictly a hero. Pattinson went on to say that he thought the only other film that had captured this dynamic was Mask of the Phantasm, released almost thirty years ago.
‘‘I sincerely believe that the tone of ‘The Batman’ has nothing to do (opposed to the previous movies), it feels new. In the comics, Batman is someone more… unstable. If you read between the lines, it's actually very sad. Whereas in the cinema, it is always his heroic side that is put forward. The Batman does the opposite, we capture the inner bubbling of the character. In my opinion, the only other to achieve this is the animated film ‘Batman : Mask Of The Phantasm’. When I saw it, it clicked: being Batman is a kind of curse, it's a burden. But hey man, you decided that, right? "No no no, I HAVE to be Batman. I was chosen, not the other way around.'' I don't think we've ever really seen that in a live film.’’
While The Batman is still weeks away from release, Pattinson’s analysis of Mask of the Phantasm is solid and is something that has been argued by fans over the years. It’s true that the Burton and Schumacher films could be guilty of side-lining the Caped Crusader in favor of famous actors playing a colorful member of his rogue’s gallery. Phantasm, however, puts more focus into exploring Bruce Wayne’s personal struggle with his identity, exploring all he's had to sacrifice to protect Gotham. One of the film’s most powerful scenes features a young Wayne begging at his parents’ grave, in the middle of a thunderstorm, to forgive the commitment to vengeance he made in the hopes he can settle for a normal life. It’s hard to imagine such a bombastic scene of personal turmoil opposite Jim Carrey's Riddler.
The reference will no doubt please fans. This may spark hopes that The Batman may by taking several notes from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and its accompanying series. The first trailer for the upcoming film did have Pattinson declare “I’m vengeance,” echoing a very similar and iconic quote from the animated series. Regardless, fans can take delight that a beloved cult classic is held in high regard by the creatives of the most recent effort.
Source: @TheBatmanFilm
