We may have seen the last of Ben Affleck’s big screen Batman, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing plenty of the Dark Knight in the years to come. Birds of Prey has landed, and now Batman himself is being rebooted once more, with Robert Pattinson playing the Caped Crusader this time around. And now the cast is growing, with Zoe Kravitz cast as Selina Kyle, Jeffrey Wright playing Commissioner Gordon, John Turturro cast as crime boss Carmine Falcone and more big announcements.
Read on to learn everything we know so far about The Batman, including the release date, the director, the cast and a tantalizing first look at that costume.
Be sure to also check out everything we know about Wonder Woman 1984 and everything we know about The Matrix 4.
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The Batman’s Release Date
The Batman is currently scheduled for release on June 25, 2021. Given DC’s habit of moving release dates around (with Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman 1984 both being significantly delayed), there’s no guarantee this release date won’t change in the future. However, with a director and star now officially locked in and the cameras officially rolling as of January 2020, hopefully the film will stay on course from here on out.
The Batman’s Title
With this reboot changing production dates, directors, writers and lead actors in recent years, about the only thing that’s remained constant is the title. This new Batman film will simply be titled The Batman.
It may be no coincidence that the movie shares a title with the 2004 animated series. Both projects focus on a younger Bruce Wayne early in his crime-fighting career. “The Batman” is how the people of Gotham tend to refer to their protector early on, when he’s an unfamiliar and mistrusted presence in a city plagued by crime and corruption.
The New Batman Movie’s Trailers
No trailers for The Batman have been released yet, and with filming only beginning in January 2020, we wouldn’t expect any footage to surface until mid to late 2020. Perhaps fans will get their first glimpse of the new movie at San Diego Comic-Con?
Fortunately, director Matt Reeves has revealed a snippet of new footage. Reeves posted a short costume test video featuring Pattinson in a dramatically redesigned Batsuit. That costume seems to be drawing inspiration from both the comics and the Arkham video games.
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The Batman Cast & Crew
When word of Warner Bros.’s next solo Batman movie first surfaced in July 2015, it was believed that Ben Affleck would direct and star, with Affleck and Geoff Johns co-writing the screenplay. However, the project has undergone a major shift since then, with Affleck dropping out (first as director and then completely) and the screenplay being substantially altered.
Matt Reeves (War of the Planet of the Apes) has now been tapped to direct The Batman. Reeves is also writing the film and serving as producer alongside fellow Apes veteran Dylan Clark.
Robert Pattinson (Cosmopolis and, yes, the Twilight movies) is starring as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The choice to cast Pattinson was apparently a simple one, with a Warners insider describing it as “quicker than normal.” Pattinson’s main source of competition was Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class), with both actors participating in a costume test in May 2019, shortly before Pattinson officially signed on.
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Zoe Kravitz became the next cast member to officially sign on. Kravitz will play Selina Kyle, though it’s unknown whether she’ll also appear as Catwoman in the movie. Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright will play Commissioner Gordon. Jonah Hill was rumored to be in the running for either Penguin or Riddler, but he’s since dropped out of the running. Instead, There Will Be Blood’s Paul Dano has been cast as Edward Nashton/The Riddler.
Reeves recently confirmed several other casting choices. His Apes collaborator Andy Serkis will play Alfred Pennyworth. Reeves also announced Do the Right Thing’s John Turturro will play mob boss Carmine Falcone and confirmed previous rumors that In Bruges’ Colin Farrell will play the Penguin.
Newcomer Jayme Lawson and Black Mass’ Peter Sarsgaard are also joining the cast. While neither actor’s role was confirmed at first, we’ve since learned both Lawson and Sarsgaard will be playing entirely new characters. Lawson is playing a mayoral candidate named Bella Reál, while Sarsgaard is playing Gotham’s District Attorney Gil Colson. Previous rumors suggested Sarsgaard was playing a pre-Two Face Harvey Dent and Lawson’s character is actually Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, and it’s possible these new characters are meant to be red herrings to help keep the plot under wraps.
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Joe Manganiello was expected to play master assassin Deathstroke in the Affleck/Johns movie, and even appeared in a brief post-credits scene in Justice League as a new recruit to Lex Luthor’s supervillain team. However, it’s unknown where or even if Manganiello will reprise the role now.
The Batman’s Plot
Very little is known about the plot of The Batman. The film is reported to be set in the ’90s, early on in Bruce Wayne’s costumed career. This could indicate that Pattinson is playing a younger version of Affleck’s Batman. Batman v Superman established that the Waynes were murdered in 1981, meaning Bruce would have first suited up as Batman in the early or mid-’90s.
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With DC downplaying the DCEU name and focusing less on continuity between movies post-Justice League, it’s hard to know for sure whether The Batman is meant to be a complete reboot or an extension of past DCEU movies. Reeves indicated in 2017 that the movie is set in the DCEU, but that may have changed since.
We know that the film won’t be an origin story. The Batman will take a more noir and mystery-oriented approach to the Dark Knight’s world, emphasizing his detective skills more than previous movies and drawing inspiration from the work of Alfred Hitchcock. However, Reeves is said to have recently tweaked the script to include more action and give fans a more well-rounded superhero experience. However, expect some big action scenes, as Pattinson is currently training in jiu-jitsu.
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Early rumors pointed to The Batman featuring anywhere from two to six villains. Based on current casting news, it appears that Catwoman, Riddler and Penguin will all appear, and another rumor claims the Mad Hatter and Two-Face could also be in the movie.
Multiple reports suggest The Batman is the start of a new trilogy. Reeves revealed as far back as 2017 that he has ideas for a multi-movie Batman story. “I have ideas about an arc,” Reeves said in 2017, “but really, the important thing is just to start… you have to start with one.”
The Batman’s Development
With The Batman undergoing some major changes over the past few years, a breakdown of the film’s rocky development is probably in order.
- July 2015 – Ben Affleck enters talks to co-write, direct and star in a solo Batman movie, with Geoff Johns expected to co-write.
- March 2016 – Affleck’s screenplay draft is completed. Johns hints the solo Batman movie may deal with the backstory of the defaced Robin costume seen in Batman v Superman.
- April 2016 – Then-Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara confirms the studio is moving forward on a solo Batman movie with Affleck directing and starring.
- May 2016 – Jeremy Irons confirms his involvement with the film.
- August 2016 – Affleck releases test footage of Manganiello’s Deathstroke.
- October 2016 – Affleck reveals the film’s working title as The Batman.
- December 2016 – Affleck confirms filming is expected to begin in spring 2017 for a planned 2018 release.
- January 2017 – Affleck steps down as director but pledges to remain onboard as actor and producer. Chris Terrio turns in a new draft of the script.
- February 2017 – After conflicting reports, Matt Reeves signs on to direct and co-produce The Batman. Production is delayed until 2018 to allow Reeves time to complete War for the Planet of the Apes.
- August 2018 – After a lull period, Reeves speaks about The Batman at a TCA panel, confirming it won’t be an origin story and teasing a more noir-inspired approach.
- January 2019 – After months of speculation, Warners confirms Affleck has dropped out of the project entirely.
- May 2019 – Robert Pattinson is officially confirmed to star as Batman.
- September 2019 – Reports surface that Jonah Hill and Jeffrey Wright are in talks to star.
- October 2019 – WB officially confirms Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, Paul Dano as Riddler and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon.
- November 2019 – Reeves confirms Andy Serkis as Alfred and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone.
- December 2019 – Peter Sarsgaard officially signs on to play a mystery character speculated to be Harvey Dent.
- January 2020 – Farrell is officially confirmed to be playing Penguin. Reeves shares a set photo from the first day of filming.
- February 2020 – Reeves posts a costume test video showing Pattinson wearing the new Batsuit.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
Source: IGN.com The Batman: Everything We Know About the DC Reboot