It's been well over a year since the teaser trailer for The Batman was released, but we're finally getting a new look at the movie on Saturday during DC FanDome. We have been treated to a few tidbits here and there since last August, and we now have a cool new piece of promo art for the movie.
It doesn't reveal much, but features that familiar logo with the Dark Knight front and centre. The red colour scheme will seemingly remain a key part of The Batman's marketing campaign, which is understandable given how striking this imagery is. With any luck, Saturday will also bring a poster for the DC Comics adaptation as now feels like the right time to start ramping up that marketing campaign.
Warner Bros. clearly has big plans for the franchise, as a sequel is reportedly in the works and we know of at least two TV shows (one focusing on the Gotham City PD and the other on The Penguin).
The Batman is directed by Matt Reeves with Robert Pattinson starring as Gotham City’s vigilante detective, Batman, and billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Also in the star-studded ensemble are Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Barry Keoghan as Officer Stanley Merkel; Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis as Alfred; and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot.
The Batman is set to be released in theaters on March 4, 2022.
Click on the "Next" button below to check out 8
characters we think should be part of The Batman franchise!
8. Julia Pennyworth
Andy Serkis is going to play Alred in The Batman, and it should be interesting seeing what vision Reeves has for his dynamic with Bruce Wayne. After all, their relationship is one we've seen explored on the big screen on many, many occasions, so perhaps the stage could be set for future stories to feature the Caped Crusader working alongside a new ally: Julia Pennyworth.
Alfred's daughter and a potential love interest for Bruce Wayne, she was a member of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and allied herself with Batman to take down a crime lord.
After learning that the Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne were one and the same, she served in a similar role to Alfred for months, and it would be a lot of fun exploring this dynamic, especially as it would be something completely different and someone new for Batman to bounce off in the Batcave.
7. Azrael
Azrael is a very interesting character who has been utilised in various video games and TV shows over the years in a lot of different ways. In the comics, Jean-Paul Valley was the latest in a line of assassins for the sinister secret society of The Sacred Order of St. Dumas, who manipulated the man they dubbed Azrael into going after Batman.
This is a character who could easily be teased in The Batman, especially as Reeves appears to be leaning into some sort of conspiracy in Gotham City (with a possible Court of Owls tease in the teaser trailer). Making Azrael one of their agents would work nicely, and he'd make for a solid departure from the typical Batman villains we've seen on screen so many times before.
Azrael is a fascinatingly complex character, and Jean-Paul could quite easily make a cameo of some sort in The Batman (or one of the spinoff shows) to set the stage for the rest of this trilogy.
6. Matches Malone
Okay, this technically
is Batman and not a separate character, but it's about damn time we get to see the Dark Knight suit up as this small time criminal who infiltrates the underworld and uses what he learns to help him take them down as Gotham City's protector. Yes, we're talking about Matches Malone!
Reeves has promised that this will be a detective story, so the hero taking measures like this makes perfect sense and it could lead to some really dramatic and tense scenes featuring his underworld alter-ego. It would certainly give Pattinson the chance to stretch his acting chops, anyway.
It's been established that there was once a real Matches, so perhaps he could be used as a supporting character in the show revolving around Gotham City P.D.? He could be the lead's informant, and a series of tragic events could be what leads to Batman choosing to use Matches as his alter-ego.
5. Nightrunner
Nightrunner was introduced during Grant Morrison's
Batman Inc. era of storytelling. He's a 22-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin that lives in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France, who Bruce handpicked to be that country's Batman.
While he could keep that background (and absolutely should, especially as he's one of only a handful of Muslim superheroes), making him a Gotham City vigilante who has been inspired by Batman not only opens the door to some different stories moving forward, but possibly even lays the groundwork for The Outsiders to assemble somewhere down the line.
Making Nightrunner one of Selina Kyle's allies seems like the most sensible option for this movie, as it might to cool to watch her lead a ragtag group of street level vigilantes and thieves down the line. Her meeting with Batman could even inspire that, though another possibility is that Bruce could meet this hero when he's forced to pursue one of his foes overseas.
4. Dick Grayson
We're still at a very early stage in the Dark Knight's career when we meet him in
The Batman, but that doesn't mean the door couldn't be left ajar to a fresh take on Robin being introduced.
Reeves making room for Dick Grayson in this movie seems unlikely; however, a tease isn't outside the realm of possibility, even if it's as simple as Bruce taking Selina Kyle to a circus right at the end of the movie. Perhaps that's a little too on the nose, but we'd love to see a reinvented, grounded Robin who could ultimately suit up as Nightwing in this fresh take on Gotham City.
One exciting possibility for his introduction is that it's a vigilante Dick who pursues Oswald Cobblepot in his planned spinoff because he blames the gangster for the murder of his parents.
3. Green Arrow
This may be a reboot, but there's really no reason it can't still tie into the wider DC Extended Universe. We doubt that will be the case in The Batman, but moving forward? Let's make it a priority.
Batman and Green Arrow have always had something of an interesting relationship, and a grittier Green Arrow who has pursued a Star City criminal to Gotham City crossing paths with Batman before being told to go back to his own town would be fun to see in a future instalment of the franchise.
This would help establish the new Batman's attitude (he's never played well with others) and opens the door to that version of Green Arrow appearing elsewhere in the DCEU. We're not expecting Reeves to set up a new Justice League, but this is a character deserving of a big screen reboot.
2. Holly Robinson
We know that Catwoman will be making an appearance in
The Batman, and after Reeves is done exploring Selina Kyle's origin story, it would be great to see Holly Robinson join her as an ally. A former prostitute who was a friend and ally to Catwoman, she even suited up in her costume for a time, and adding another female character to this movie would be no bad thing.
Her comic book history ended up being ridiculously convoluted, but Reeves can stick to the basics.
She doesn't necessarily have to be a former prostitute, but getting some insight into what Catwoman does and the sort of people she helps would do her character a world of good. Making Holly a well fleshed out character in her own right and following her on the streets of Gotham City would add another dimension to this story that other Batman movies haven't really touched on.
1. The Batman Who Laughs
Honestly, introducing a villain from the Dark Multiverse feels like a real departure from what Reeves is going for, especially as we know he's aiming for a grounded origin story that delves into Batman's detective skills.
If he wants to get a little more fantastical with the sequels, though, using a post-credits scene to introduce The Batman Who Laughs (or even revealing that he's been pulling the strings, Hush-style) would be extremely exciting. We don't want to get too ahead of ourselves here, but just imagine if this were to lead to Pattinson's Batman teaming up with Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton's!
Pitting the hero against a monstrous version of himself who is part-Batman and part-Joker would be unlike anything we've seen on screen before, and is arguably even more interesting than watching Bruce take on the actual Joker (for the umpteenth time) in a future movie. We don't think this will happen, but stranger things have definitely happened...