New The Batman Synopsis Reveals The Full Scope Of The Story

A new "Batman" movie is always cause for excitement and celebration among fans ... but it's also cause for an incredible amount of secrecy as well. Throughout the marketing of Matt Reeves' "The Batman," everyone involved with the creative team has played things extremely close to the chest. The almost complete dearth of spoiler-filled information so far hasn't been all bad, however, as the initial teaser — cobbled together with whatever scraps of footage had come in from the dailies on set at that very early point in the pandemic-interrupted production — still managed to thrill viewers by teasing only the broadest possible strokes of this new story involving Robert Pattinson's younger and less experienced Bruce Wayne. The next trailer revealed during DC's FanDome event offered much more revealing footage, but plenty of mystery still remains.

Warner Bros. has shed just a bit more light on the plot of the film, however, with the official release of a new, lengthier, and more detailed synopsis for "The Batman." Feast your eyeballs on it below!

Darkness. No parents. Tends to brood. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who isn't pretty familiar with how the character of Batman tends to operate in modern movies and shows these days, but that doesn't mean all "Batman" movies are created equally. Plot details have been kept under heavy wraps for DC's upcoming "The Batman," with prior synopses offering only a hint of what to expect with this newest story. Now, however, comes the most revealing information we've yet received. Thanks to Warner Bros.' newest synopsis, we have much more context for how Bruce Wayne and all his reimagined supporting cast figures into the narrative of this film. The synopsis reads:

Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city's corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.

When a killer targets Gotham's elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World's Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.

This new synopsis lays out the basics of how Pattinson's version of Batman is very much still a rookie (well, okay, technically a sophomore) in his second year on the vigilante beat, lining up with previous rumors of a "Year Two" approach to the character. Mostly kept to an imposing off-screen presence in the footage we've seen so far, Paul Dano's Riddler is heavily implied to be targeting the highest class citizens in Gotham as Batman is forced to put aside his reclusive ways to bring him to justice. Written and directed by Reeves, the rest of the cast includes Zoë Kravitz, John Turturro, Jeffrey Wright, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell.

"The Batman" flies into theaters on March 4, 2022.