DC FanDome: ‘The Batman’ Rises With A Teaser

Closing out the first day of DC FanDome — day two is on September 12th — The Batman star Robert Pattinson and director Matt Reeves unveiled a cool surprise while offering new details about the film: the first teaser trailer.
Reeves was quick to make one thing clear — The Batman is not another origin story of its title character. Taking place in Year Two, Reeves said it is more of a origin for villains like The Pengiun (Colin Farrell), The Riddler (Paul Dano), and Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz). Batman, meanwhile, is both a legend and a dangerous vigilante, but not the symbol of hope he will become. “It’s year two of the Gotham Experiment,” Reeves explained. “He’s charting his effect and seeing nothing is going right. Then the murders start. It opens a new world of corruption.”
That corruption will be furthered explored in the Gotham PD series Reeves is developing with Terrence Winter for HBO Max. “The idea is that we could do a series that goes deeper into the corrupt inner workings of the city, ” he said. “We go back to year one and you start to see the story of these corrupt cops.” One cop in particular will face up to Gotham’s problems while dealing with his own family’s history. “It’s a battle for his soul,” Reeves added. He noted the cast will feature a mix of established DC Comics characters and new ones. But, overall, the series will allow viewers to enter “rich places.”
Back in the film, though, the corruption of Gotham will lead the Batman to ask a question of his own: “Where did my family sit in that?” Whether or not that means the Court of Owls is coming to The Batman remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, Reeves hopes to deliver a Batman partly inspired by Darwyn Cooke‘s Batman: Ego — at least in as much as giving Batman’s motivations a deeper examination while amping up the detective feel of the character. “If he has a superpower, it’s the ability to endure,” Reeves added. “Seeing him become what we know in new ways made me excited.”
Reeves touched on The Batman being an iteration of the character, but not necessarily the one connected to Justice League. “It’s about looking at a character in a new way,” he said. “It’s this strange thing of finding a new way but being connected to the thing you love.”
With only 25-30% of the movie shot, Reeves still offered a teaser for the film. The footage suggests a heavy influence from Batman: The Long Halloween. And, this being Batman, it’s dark. Dark enough for the Batman to call himself “vengeance.” Despite the lack of material film, the trailer sure seemed accomplished. One hopes Reeves can strike the balance of character study and genre action he says he wants. The glimpse seen here suggests it is possible.
The Batman is due in theaters sometime in ?0?1.