There have been six big-screen versions of Batman so far, but the newest actor to don the iconic cape and cowl has promised his take on the Dark Knight will be “radically different”. Robert Pattinson said as much during CinemaCon, where some behind the scenes footage from The Batman screened. During the short clip, Pattinson explained that Matt Reeves’s vision for the character is unique, despite the caped crusader having had many iterations.
“For some reason, Batman has always stood out as one of the major characters of the 20th century, and so many people connect with it on such a deep level for so many different reasons,” he explained, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. “From the first conversation I had with Matt about it, I just knew that there was something radically different [here].”
Director Matt Reeves offered some tantalising hints as to what will make this version of Batman different from his predecessors. Reeves teased that he thinks this “could be the most emotional Batman movie ever made”, which suggests to us The Batman is interested in digging more into Bruce Wayne’s psyche and explaining what it is that fuels his one-man war on crime. That is something that’s only really been touched on once before, in Batman Begins, and only very briefly before it became a more typical action movie.
Reeves also admitted that he’s drawing inspiration from Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. “I felt that we’ve seen lots of origin stories. It seems things go further and further into fantasy, and I thought, well, one place we haven’t been is grounding it in the way that Year One does,” he explained. “To come right into a young Batman, not being an origin tale, but referring to his origins and shaking him to his core.”
This isn’t the first time Reeves has said The Batman would be exploring the early days of Bruce Wayne’s vigilante career. Speaking at DC FanDome last year, he said the adventure movie would follow a Batman who’s “far from perfect” and is still learning the ropes of this whole superhero thing. It’s only when The Riddler (or who we think is The Riddler) starts murdering people in Gotham that Bruce goes on an “incredibly personal” journey and truly becomes the Batman that criminals fear.
The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the titular superhero. Starring alongside him is Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, Paul Dano as the villainous Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, and Andy Serkis as Alfred.
The Batman is set to hit theatres on March 4, 2022, if you need to know more about the Dark Knight and the Justice League check out our guide on the DCEU.