“And when that light hits the sky…it’s not just a call, it’s a warning.”
Last year, the world got a glimpse at director Matt Reeves’s noir’ based take on The Batman during the first DC Fandome. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were two delays from its original June 2021 release date. During the second DC Fandome, the eagerly anticipated trailer was shown to the world where Batman / Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) will be completely different from the ones we’ve known.
The trailer starts with Gotham City PD and Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) apprehending who we can guess is Paul Dano’s version of The Riddler/ Edward Nashton. (the question mark latte is a dead giveawa0. They are careful not to reveal his face throughout the footage we see. Even with the meeting of Batman and Nashton in the jail, it quickly cuts away when the platform hits an apex. We get new looks at Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and more clear-cut views of a transformative Colin Ferrell as Oz/ The Penguin within this new trailer. The Gotham that’s depicted here looks to be in immense disarray. Oz is not the Kingpin that we know yet, and given that Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) will also be in the film, there will probably be a turf war between the two.
Bruce utters the words, “I don’t care what happens to me,” further indicative of the fighting style that’s shown throughout. The hero that is looking to disarm and apprehend isn’t here. Matt Reeves presents a Year Two Batman that has no qualms about the brutality that he dishes out. It’s funny that Catwoman speaks to Batman and asks, “who are you under there?” He may not know. After all, Bruce Wayne is the mask, and Batman is the real person. Pattinson’s iteration of Batman is going to have a bit of an anger issue. There’s a spot towards the end of the trailer where Batman beats somebody to a pulp, and Catwoman looks on in horror. He’s relentless during a car chase with Oz and is willing to take on an enormous group of bad guys on his own.
Reeves’s take on the Cape Crusader is shaping up to be a darker look into his overall psyche during his younger years. The Riddler will have a different look than his question-donned green suit, as seen in the comic. This trailer is full of creepy voice-overs and written clues that he leaves. It very much feels as though this film will be an exploratory medium of not just Bruce Wayne but Gotham as a whole. There’s a reason that The Riddler is targeting him and the hidden history of Gotham that the Wayne family might be intertwined with. What is Selena Kyle’s motive in having an alliance with Bruce Wayne? Bookended by some beautiful actions shots showing off a bulletproof Batsuit, we wait until March 4th, 2022, arrives.
The Michael Keaton and Christian Bale versions of Batman had morals or lines they wouldn’t cross. Ben Affleck’s Batman was shaped by the murder of Robin – so he briefly goes off the deep end before Superman’s sacrifice brings him back. Pattinson’s version (not in the same universe, Earth-Two) doesn’t have that line yet. He’s figuring out the essence of Batman, but it’s the anger that drives him – but how far will he go?
Photo Credit: Warner Brothers/DC
