Trailer Watch: Robert Pattinson Kicks Butt And Breaks Bones As The Batman; Michael Keaton Returns As The Dark Knight In The Flash
2022 will be a busy year for The Dark Knight at the movies.
Good news for Batman fans next year: You get to see the vigilante on the big screen in not one, but two movies — one played by Robert Pattinson, in his first tour in the DC-verse; the other, Michael Keaton, the O.G. star in Tim Burton’s two cinematic instaments in the late ‘80s and ‘90s.
The first full trailer for Matt Reeves’ The Batman was launched at the DCFandome virtual fan event early Sunday morning (Oct 17), and it features a very violent, brutal Caped Crusader portrayed by Pattinson. It’s so brutal that one must wonder: er, is this still a PG13 movie?
The nearly three-minute preview also offers a closer look to Paul Dano’s Riddler, an unrecognisable Colin Farrell’s Penguin, Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman and Andy Serkis’ Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler and Batcave concierge (do you think Batman is going to clean it up himself?)
Visually, The Batman promises to be dark (duh) and brooding (double duh), filtered through the sensibilities of Seven and The Crow, perpetually drenched in rain and cloaked in shadows. Oh, man, this raises one concern: the projectionists better not disappoint us — don’t you dare go cheap on the luminosity!
In the movie, The Flash attempts to harness his power to visit an alternate timeline to prevent his mother’s murder. In the course of doing so, he meets Michael Keaton’s Batman. (Ben Affleck’s Batman is said to be in the picture as well, but he doesn’t make an appearance here.)
While Keaton’s face isn’t shown in the teaser, it does feature a shot of the Batman’s cowl from the back before The Flash asks, “Are you in?” We don’t know about him, but we’re in. The Flash also stars Temuera Morrison, Ron Livingston, Kiersey Clemons, and Sasha Calle.