I think it’s fair to say, that no character in cinematic history has been messed up more than superhero icon Batman. Whether it be the old, out of shape Ben Affleck interpretation, or the George Clooney Batman that is the stuff of internet legend thanks to the “bat-nipples” and “bat-credit card”, Batman has had some pretty bad moments on the silver screen. Of course, the Christopher Noland, “Dark Knight” trilogy is considered to be the holy grail of superhero movies. But other than that, it’s been a massive struggle for comic book fans to find a live-action Batman that represents all that the character is known to be. Luckily, fans look like they might be getting a good Batman, with Matt Reeves’ “The Batman”, coming out in 2022. Over the quarantine the first trailer for the highly anticipated movie was released (see the quarantine wasn’t that bad), and while it would take forever for me to breakdown every little detail and Easter-egg from said trailer, I can at least tell you what to expect.

Matt Reeves’ “The Batman”, set to release in 2022 (due to Covid related delays the release date is very fluid) is said to be about Batman in his second year of fighting crime, which is great news for Batman fans, as his origin has been very overdone throughout the history of his movies. This young Bruce Wayne/Batman is set to be played by Robert Pattinson, who is known mostly for his involvement in the Vampire-based “Twilight” saga, in which he played a main character. Joining Pattinson in the cast are Zoë Kravitz (Catwoman), Colin Farrell (Penguin), Paul Dano (Riddler), Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth), Jeffrey Wright (Commissioner Jim Gordon) and John Turturro (Carmine Falcone). And while there are many other names listed on the cast, many of them are either playing roles that have not been named or minor roles.

Aside from the cast and Batman’s age, not much is known about the upcoming film. We know this Batman that is portrayed in the movie is going to be more of a detective than his past iterations, which should make comic book fans very happy as Batman’s mantle as “world’s greatest detective” is something that is often ignored. We also know that a main theme of this film will be corruption, with speculation that the main villain will be John Turturro’s Carmine Falcone, who is one of Gotham’s most notorious crime bosses with ties to politicians and to members of the police force. One thing we know for sure is that Paul Dano’s Riddler will play a large role in this movie, but whether he is a puppet, or a puppet master is yet to be seen. In the trailer Riddler had a very different costume than most Batman fans know him to have. Rather than the bright green suit, this Riddler, who by the trailer seems to be a serial killer, sticks to dark clothes and a bag over his head with goggles, who uses duct tape to cover his victims. Matt Reeve’s has said that he wants this movie to feel more real and gritty than past ones have been and transitioning the Riddler from a neon suit wearing maniac to just some guy in dark clothes and a mask certainly is a step into realism.

Speaking of costumes, Batman’s has changed quite a bit from what we’re used to as well. His suit is made of what looks to be metal plates, and the bat symbol on his chest looks as if it is made out of two halves of a gun (possibly the gun of the killer who murdered his parents when he was just a child). One thing that hasn’t changed about Batman is the iconic voice. In the first trailer, Robert Pattinson immediately won fans over when he said “I am vengeance” in his gritty Bat-voice. It sounded almost vulnerable and painful as if it’s torturous for him to carry the baggage of his parents’ death with him as patrols the streets of Gotham.

So, as you’ve gathered from reading this, there is very little we know about the upcoming Batman movie, and maybe that’s not all a bad thing. Superhero movie fans are normally pretty sure what they’re getting themselves into due to the sustained success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sustained awfulness that is the DC Extended Universe. Therefore, nothing really catches us off guard when we see a big movie. But this movie started out as a big gamble. From the controversial casting of Robert Pattinson to the just as controversial bat- suit, everything has seemed out of left field. So, again, maybe it’s a good thing we don’t know anything. From the trailer we know it looks like it’s going to be very good, but we will not know anything else for sure until sometime in 2022.