The Batman panel capped off the DC FanDome event, and it was worth the wait. Finally, we’re seeing director Matt Reeves’ fresh take on the events leading up to Bruce Wayne transforming into a masked vigilante. The Robert Pattinson-starring film resides in a different universe than the DCEU, like Todd Phillips’ Joker (which did take a stab at rewriting Batman’s origin story in, uh, a not-so-great way) that starred Joaquin Phoenix in an Oscar-winning role. Will The Batman bring the same accolades for Pattinson? One can only hope, and this is a whole new look for Gotham. Yet as Matt Reeves stressed during his panel, please don’t think of this as an origin story.
Thank goodness, because we’ve heard that origin story many times already. There was plenty of reason to expect a different take on The Dark Knight than we’ve ever seen previously, and from the looks of the trailer, that suspicion has been confirmed. And I’m not simply referring to Pattinson’s refusal to get buff like every Batman-playing actor who came before him. As Reeves revealed before the trailer’s release, he mostly wanted this film to feel “grounded,” and it sure looks like we’re seeing that above.
Grounded, violent, and layered as hell? Check, check, and check.
Between the secret-concealing new Batsuit and Fast and Furious-style Batmobile, it’s clear that a massive amount of effort went into making this movie feel grounded and authentic, even if it’s painting outside the comic-book lines. We’ll see how successful the entire project turns out when The Batman arrives on October 1, 2021.