‘The Batman’ has become one of the most anticipated films, starring Robert Pattinson as a younger Bruce Wayne who is in Year Two of his vigilante career.
The Batman has changed a lot from Warner Bros.’ early plans, which were to have Ben Affleck direct and reprise his role. Instead of a story based around an older Batman, Pattinson will be playing a much younger version of the caped crusader. The screenplay for The Batman was co-written by Romanian filmmaker Mattson Tomlin and Reeves himself. The latter is best known for directing the last two films in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy and Cloverfield.
Batman’s origin story has been told many times before, but Reeves has wisely decided not to do yet another origin story. The Batman will instead be set in Bruce Wayne’s second year of having a secret life as the caped crusader. Reeves explained that “I wanted to do not an origin tale, but a tale that would still acknowledge his origins, in that it formed who he is.” Part of acknowledging Bruce’s origins will also include addressing his billionaire status in a world increasingly critical of billionaires and what they do (and don’t do) with their fortunes. Because this version of Bruce Wayne is young, he is not yet the world’s greatest detective that he will eventually become, and we’re likely to see him still making a lot of mistakes.
The Batman will be drawing some inspiration from the Arkham games, which blended Batman’s action with his detective skills. There were reportedly plans at one point to have the entire movie set inside Arkham Asylum, like the first of the Arkham games was. That idea didn’t pan out, but The Batman will have some scenes set in Arkham Asylum.
The casting of Peter Sarsgaard as a district attorney in the film, immediately led to speculation that he would be playing Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face. Sarsgaard says that he’s playing a new character created for the movie, Gil Colson, who he states “I’m basically a politician that has trouble telling the truth“, adding that his DA is “a pretty distasteful person.” Corruption among politicians and police is a common theme in portrayals of Gotham City, and indeed part of the justification for Batman’s existence.
One of the most mysterious elements of ‘The Batman’ is the role of Catwoman, who will be played by Zoë Kravitz. Kravitz has been required to train very hard and stay in shape for the role, so we’re likely going to see a great deal of Catwoman in action as a fighter with catlike reflexes. The two characters have a long and complicated history in comics, given that Batman fights crime and Catwoman is a criminal, the likelihood of a romantic relationship between the two of them is high.
neillfrazer@hotmail.com
