The Batman director and co-writer Matt Reeves explained why he had no interest in covering Bruce Wayne's well-known origin story in the upcoming DC film.
"We've seen it so many times," Reeves told Esquire, confirming that The Batman will completely skip the character's iconic origin rather than telling it from a slightly different angle. "It's been done too much. I knew we couldn't do that."
Variations of Batman's origin story, in which a young Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents at the hands of a mugger, have been told on screen in Tim Burton's Batman, Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Even 2019's Joker, despite centering on the Clown Prince of Crime, featured a scene where Thomas and Martha Wayne are gunned down.
The Batman, set during Bruce Wayne's second year as a crimefighting vigilante, will still explore the character's emotional trauma despite forgoing his beginnings. Robert Pattinson, who portrays the titular superhero, recently described his version of the iconic character as a "really dirty, dirty, slimy Batman." The film itself is said to be a much grittier interpretation of the well-known Batman legend, with 1970s noir films like Taxi Driver and Chinatown influencing Reeves.
To get into character, Pattinson took inspiration from late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who's largely credited with bringing grunge rock into the mainstream. There are several other features that distinguish Pattinson's Dark Knight from previous iterations. The actor recently suggested that his Batman is fighting the urge to kill at all times, as he takes "pleasure" in spending his nights chasing criminals. Pattinson also discussed how The Batman's version of Bruce Wayne is more of a mask for his superhero alter ego than ever before.
Reeves recently explained that when Warner Bros. approached him with the idea of making a Batman movie, he insisted that it take place outside of the DC Extended Universe and without interference from other members of the Justice League.
"Ben [Affleck] had been working on a version of the script, and I said, 'Here's the thing: I respect that the DC Universe has become an extended universe and all the movies were kind of connected. But another Batman film, it shouldn't have to carry the weight of connecting the characters from all those other movies. I didn't want them in there,'" said Reeves.
The Batman, which also stars Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler and Colin Farrell as The Penguin, hits theaters on March 4.
Source: Esquire