New Plot Details For The Batman Have Been Revealed
"The Batman" hype train has officially left the station and whether or not you're on board, you best prepare for a barrage of Bat-flavoured content. Now weeks away from release, the highly-anticipated Matt Reeves flick is finally unraveling its mysteries. We already had some inkling of the film's story — in a way, the title says it all: Bruce Wayne. Darkness. No parents. Vigilante antics. Cool car. Ya know, all the usual stuff.
The film is set to pick up during Bruce's (Robert Pattinson) second year of crimefighting, focusing on corruption running rampant throughout Gotham as the Bat puts his detective hat on, tries to unmask a serial killer, and forges new relationships. The fresh-faced vigilante will likely come to blows with a couple of supervillains, particularly those on the verge of rising to prominence — Penguin (Colin Farrell), Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), and the Riddler (Paul Dano). But how exactly will he cross paths with this frightening rogues gallery? We finally have some answers.
Villains on the rise
We now know that "The Batman" sees the Caped Crusader hunting the Riddler, a masked serial killer targeting some of Gotham's most prominent (and presumably corrupt) political figures. The investigation brings the lone vigilante to the Iceberg Lounge, the nightclub that DC fans will recognize as the base of operations for one Oswald Cobblepot AKA the Penguin. While the mob lieutenant runs the show, Selina Kyle scrapes out a living as a waitress and occasional drug dealer. But her relationship with the Bat is much more complicated than the previously mentioned villains — after her roommate goes missing, the duo resolve to team up, needing one another to "untangle an increasingly sinister mystery."
According to Kravitz, their chemistry is immediate. The actress recently told Entertainment Weekly:
"They have quite a strong connection pretty quickly, and I think they're both trying to ignore that. They're both very surprised by feeling a connection with somebody because that's quite rare for them. It puts both of us out of our comfort zone."
Turns out all those unresolved orphan issues can put a real damper on one's love life. And it certainly doesn't help that any Bat-romance with Selina is marred by them operating on separate sides of the law.
Pattinson added,
"Bruce created Batman in this very binary worldview where he [believes] there are bad guys and there are victims. Selina comes along, and he's like, 'Well, you're a thief. You're basically the same as the Penguin,' and yet... there's something in her I recognize. It's going up against his snap judgment."
Their on-again-off-again romance is famously tragic and "The Batman" makes no exception. Their relationship is a key component of the film, critical to both characters' journeys. But Selina won't be the only one challenging Bruce's code. Though he's been on the hero beat for a year, the Bat's path forward remains unclear and his sense of justice deeply flawed. Reeves told EW, "I wanted a Batman that was still becoming."
In his quest to take down the Riddler, Batman will fulfill his title of the world's greatest detective by diligently following the clues to unravel the mystery his villain has laid out. But each taunting riddle also brings him closer to unearthing Gotham's secret history, which happens to involve the very people that Bruce still holds near and dear — his own parents.
Reeves added:
"I didn't want, Here comes the rogues' gallery characters, and here's Batman, and aren't they exciting, and he's going to beat them. I wanted it to be much more psychological for his character to have a place to go."
Though it sounds like this Batman movie is less interested in his rogues' gallery, they certainly play an inextricable part in altering his emotional journey. You can catch "The Batman" in theaters on March 4, 2022.
Here's the official synopsis:
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.