As part of Warner Bros. CinemaCon presentation, the studio revealed a new featurette on The Batman, showcasing new footage before running the teaser from last year's DC Fandome.
Diving behind the scenes on the eagerly-awaited pic, originally earmarked as a vehicle for Batfleck, it opens on Bruce Wayne walking around a Gotham in ruins. According to Screen Rant's description, Pattinson then discusses the importance of the character: "For some reason, Batman has always stood as one of the major characters of the 20th century," and says this is a "radically different" take on the character than we've seen in other adaptations.
Director Matt Reeves cuts in then to discuss the movie's tone, promising fans an "emotional Batman movie", adding that while it's not an origin story for the Dark Knight it's "grounded the way Year One is". Fans of the caped crusader may recognize that title – Frank Miller's revered comic series also served as inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
The featurette then sees "Batman beating up Gotham city goons awash in a red light, as well as other action with explosions, police officers, and chaos," before showcasing extra footage of the Batman and Catwoman fight shown in the first teaser from August 2020. The clip then showcases a first look at Andy Serkis' Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's esteemed right-hand man.
It's intriguing to hear Pattinson refer to his take on Bruce Wayne as "radically different" – might that be a similar stance to the one Joaquin Phoenix took in 2019's Joker? His approach, for better or worse, shook things up and delivered a performance which landed him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Might Pattinson stand a chance at a similar win?
We'll find out when The Batman arrives in theaters on March 4, 2022. Joining Pattinson is Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham District Attorney Gil Colson, with Colin Farrell and Andy Serkis as The Penguin and Alfred Pennyworth respectively.
For more on what DC and Marvel has in store next year, check out our guide to new superhero movies.
