Update: The Batman director Matt Reeves has since responded to the below deepfake video, praising it as "amazing."
A new deepfake video reimagining of The Batman replaces Robert Pattinson with Adam West. Pattinson is the newest actor to don the cowl of the famous DC Comics caped crusader. Despite coming in close proximity to both Christan Bale's iteration of the character in the Dark Knight trilogy and Ben Affleck's performance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and its DCEU follow-ups, The Batman has been a major success. The film had the best opening weekend of any 2022 film so far when it released on March 4 and, at a current domestic total of $366 million, has even outdone Spider-Man: No Way Home's box office record to land at the number one slot for the year.
Although Pattinson portrays the newest iteration of the character, Batman has a long history, tracing all the way back to his comic book origin in 1939 and the film serials of the 1940s. Perhaps the most iconic of his early onscreen portrayals is West's performance in the series Batman, which ran on ABC from 1966 to 1968. The 120-episode series, which also starred Burt Ward as Batman's sidekick, Robin, is well known for its campy sensibility and over-the-top storylines and performances. Although onscreen versions of Batman would start to become more and more dark or intense, the 1960s Batman series gleefully embraced its comic book origins.
Corridor, a visual effects collective that has been producing viral content for over a decade, have released a brand new video based on The Batman. Their latest pop culture outing is taking footage from The Batman and alternately using deepfake technology and clever editing to replace Pattinson with West. They have even gone so far as to completely retro-ify every element of the film, including superimposing the classic "WHAM!" "POW!" graphics over scenes like The Batman's opening sequence, in which Batman beats up gang members on a subway platform. Check out the video below:
Click here to view the original post
The Corridor Crew was so thorough that they even replaced Paul Dano as The Riddler, using footage from the original Frank Gorshin version. Colin Farrell's new version of The Penguin has also been replaced with Burgess Meredith. Ironically, one of the only actors they haven't replaced is Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman. While it certainly would have been fun to see Julie Newmar or Eartha Kitt playing the character in this bonkers vision of The Batman, the juxtaposition of Kravitz's slick and ultramodern take with West's goofy antics serves to make the video even more entertaining.
This juxtaposition certainly highlights what a somber crime drama The Batman is. Even though the origins of the characters are colorful and exaggerated, Pattinson's Batman and the world around him are overwhelmingly dark. That's certainly the version that seems to appeal to audiences at the moment, but this video is a pleasant reminder that Batman can encompass many tones and sensibilities, which is why the character has had such an enduring fanbase throughout the decades, from his very first appearance to 2022's The Batman.
Source: Corridor
