Batman has long been a favorite of the public in terms of superheroes, stretching from the original TV show in the 1960s, to the famous Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, Batman has maintained his dominance. And now that history is being expanded with Matt Reeves's The Batman. The newest coming to the series is the famous actor Robert Pattinson as the titular character. When the project was first announced in May 2019, there was quite a buzz about if the former Twilight actor could fill the dark and brooding shoes of the Bat himself, but with the movie release coming up soon the time for doubt is over. Here's everything we know so far about The Batman including the release date, trailer, cast, and more.
When Is The Batman's Release Date and Where Can You Watch it?
In the United States, the release date of The Batman is March 4, 2022. The movie will not be being released immediately on a companion streaming service, which is an oddity in the Post-COVID world. Warner Bro. has confirmed that you can stream the movie 45 days after the date when it will be released in theaters. So we will be able to see The Batman on HBO Max on April 18, 2022.
Will The Batman be an Origin Story?
According to director Matt Reeves, the story will take place in the second year of Bruce Wayne’s time as Batman. So we won’t see the transition from the innocent young Bruce Wayne into the deadly Batman. The movie focuses on a series of murders that are taking place all around Gotham City. The official plot summary is as follows:
“The Batman is an edgy, action-packed thriller that depicts Batman in his early years, struggling to balance rage with righteousness as he investigates a disturbing mystery that has terrorized Gotham. Robert Pattinson delivers a raw, intense portrayal of Batman as a disillusioned, desperate vigilante awakened by the realization that the anger consuming him makes him no better than the ruthless serial killer he’s hunting.”
Watch The Batman Trailer
Thankfully Warner Bros. has been putting out a lot of good trailers for this movie. It started with the DCFanDome Teaser back in August 2020. Since then, we also had the main trailer that is a lengthy 2 minutes and 38 seconds. The newest trailer that was released last December is perhaps the most exciting out of all of them, showcasing Catwoman and Batman's budding relationship.
So far this new movie has a promising cast, a muscle-car-inspired Batmobile, and a swanky new Batsuit. While not everyone was originally supportive of the new cast, all the trailers have been amazing. This new movie has plenty of villains, a great foundation for the storyline, and a good writing team. As March 4 closes in, get ready for our next dose of the genius detective, and hope that Warner Bros. does not disappoint us again.
What Is The Batman Based On?
Some people have been speculating that this new movie will be based on the comic book series The Long Halloween. Ironically enough, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy also adapted elements from this comic series, but with significant alterations. The original storyline is based on a series of murders that happened each month during a holiday, including Halloween of course. The original comic series focuses on Batman as a mystery solver and detective, which is a side of Batman we haven’t seen much yet in the live-action movies. The Long Halloween also has almost all of the major Batman villains including big names such as Joker, Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman, as well as others. This means plenty of probabilities for more than one movie and plenty of surprise appearances in the near future.
Who Are the Main Cast Members of The Batman?
Other than Robert Pattinson, the cast is stacked with well-known and experienced actors. Zoë Kravitz will be reprising her role as Catwoman, from her previous experience in The Lego Batman Movie of all places. Andy Serkis, well known for his work in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Lord of Rings among others, will be playing the role of the butler Alfred Pennyworth.
A few other notable names are Jeffery Wright as James Gordon, and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, better known by his moniker The Penguin. Paul Dano is the Riddler, whose name is Edward Nashton (instead of Edward Nygma like in the comics) and the infamous crime boss Carmine Falcone will be played by John Turturro. While sources have been reporting rumors about the appearance of villains such as the Joker, they are not officially listed on the cast list.
Who Are the Writers and Director of The Batman?
Matt Reeves is one of the directors and has been doing a lot of the preliminary press for this project. He has some previous experience with the Batman character including some future projects such as the 2023 Batman: Caped Crusader series. Reeves also wrote the screenplay alongside Peter Craig, who has also worked on projects such as Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and 2.
Is The Batman Connected to the DC Expanded Universe?
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Reeves originally hinted at the fact that The Batman would be out of the DCEU completely, similar to The Joker. Since then, he has shifted his tune and has seemed to imply that this movie will be an integral part of the DCEU. There are a few options for how this could happen. The simplest of all these options would be Robert Pattinson simply replacing Ben Affleck and everyone acts as if nothing happened. While this wouldn’t be the first time such an event has happened (looking at you, Don Cheadle), we have already seen some characters capable of changing reality in the DCEU.
Another option would be some sort of mirror universe, that has a faint connection to DCEU. More likely, however, would be that the upcoming movie The Flash will be following the Flashpoint storyline that rewrites the known DC universe. That could be a good way to bring in a new Batman.
What Is the Runtime of The Batman?
If you were worried about not having enough action, brush away the thought. The runtime for the movie is a staggering 2 hours and 55 minutes. This may be one of the times that you have to strategically plan out your bathroom breaks.