Before the MCU, Batman was the biggest superhero franchise on the big screen, and even as Warner Bros. has had to start and stop a few times since Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy wrapped up, excitement for the caped crusader from Gotham is always high among fans. That is certainly the case for his latest adaptation, The Batman.
A whole new interpretation on the character from Ben Affleck’s Batman that fans got in Batman v Superman and The Justice League, Matt Reeves wrote (along with Peter Craig) and is directing The Batman.
With that said, here is everything that we know about The Batman, one of the biggest movies in 2022 ...
How to watch The Batman
The Batman released exclusively in movie theaters on March 4, where it is still playing. So, anyone still needing to go watch The Batman, or who wants to watch it again, will need to make their way to movie theaters.
However, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar has already confirmed in an interview with Vox that The Batman would debut on HBO Max on April 19.
For more information, see our how to watch The Batman story.
The Batman reviews
Reviews are in for The Batman. What to Watch's review of the movie called in a dark, nihilistic crime epic, particularly braving director Matt Reeves' blockbuster filmmaking and the chemistry between Robert Pattison's Bat and Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman.
Currently, The Batman has a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and has been deemed "Certified Fresh." Metacritic, another review aggregator site, has the The Batman scoring a quite respectable 72. Many of the reviews say The Batman is the best movie about the caped crusader since The Dark Knight.
It will be interesting to see where Robert Pattison eventually falls in our best Batman actors piece.
Who is in The Batman cast?
Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck have all donned the cowl to take on the role of Batman. The latest actor to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Matt Reeves-directed film will be none other than Robert Pattinson.
Pattison is most widely known for his breakout role in the Twilight franchise. But after being a teen heartthrob, the actor has been making some really interesting choices starring in movies like The Rover, Maps to the Stars, The Lost City of Z, Good Time, High Life and The Lighthouse. He made his big-budget comeback in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and is now once again taking on the lead role in a potential franchise with The Batman.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Batman movie without Bruce Wayne’s trusted butler/advisor. In The Batman, Andy Serkis will be playing Alfred. This will be a reunion for Serkis and Reeves, who had previously worked together on the recent Planet of the Apes movies. To my knowledge, Serkis will not be using mo-cap to play Alfred — but hey, who knows.
Also on Batman’s side will be Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, the Gotham City commissioner most recently played by J.K. Simmons and Gary Oldman. Peter Sarsgaard is slated to play District Attorney Gil Colson.
He may need all the help he can get, as there are multiple infamous Batman villains set to appear in The Batman. Among them are The Riddler, played by Paul Dano; The Penguin, played by Colin Farrell; Catwoman, played by Zoë Kravitz (though she's more like a tenuous ally); and Carmine Falcone, played by John Tuturro. Barry Keoghan also appears in as an unnamed Arkham prisoner who fans may quickly recognize.
Will soon be seeing more of one of these characters beyond The Batman. A Penguin spinoff show has bee ordered at HBO Max.
The Batman deleted scene
Even though it's just a couple of weeks after the movie released in theaters, a deleted scene from The Batman has already made its way onto the internet, and it is sure to get fans buzzing.
The scene shows Robert Pattinson's Batman and Barry Keoghan's Arkham prisoner (who director Matt Reeves has confirmed is the Joker, even if he's not specifically called that). Give the scene a look right here:
What is the plot of The Batman?
After the most recent version of the caped crusader primarily went up against Superman and Steppenwolf, The Batman looks to bring things back to basics.
The synopsis for The Batman, per IMDb, reads: "In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler."
One other important bit of plot detail that we have been able to gather from the trailers is that Batman and Catwoman appear to have a tenuous, flirtatious relationship in the movie; a familiar storyline for the two characters across Batman movies and comics.
The Batman is shaping up to be one of the longest superhero movies ever made, as it is being reported that The Batman runtime clocks in at nearly three hours.
Who is The Batman director Matt Reeves?
Even if you don’t recognize the name Matt Reeves offhand, you definitely know some of the movies that he has made. After getting his start in TV, Reeves made his feature film directorial debut with the found footage monster flick Cloverfield. He then directed the horror remake, Let Me In.
But his biggest movies thus far have been Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, the critically-acclaimed sequels to Andy Serkis’ rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise that were made in the 2010s.
Reeves still has a toe in the TV waters as well, creating a writing the pilot episode for NBC’s drama, Ordinary Joe, though the show was recently cancelled.
In addition to directing The Batman, Reeves also wrote the script and is producing the film.
The Batman trailer
DC Fandome was filled with plenty of new and exclusive content, but one of the most anticipated unveils during the event was the release of the brand new trailer for The Batman. It's been more than a year since the first trailer debuted online, and this new look offers an even better look at the newest movie featuring the caped crusader.
Fans get their best look yet at Paul Dano's The Riddler, a complicated relationship with Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman and a fun chase scene with Colin Farrell's The Penguin. Plus plenty of clips of Robert Pattinson's Batman fighting off some goons. Enjoy the full trailer below.
Batman fans also get a belated Christmas gift, as a new trailer was released just after the holiday. In this one, we see the Bat and the Cat teaming up to take on the threat of the Riddler. Watch below.
Added bonus, the theme music for The Batman, composed by Michael Giacchino, has been shared by director Matt Reeves for all to enjoy.
My brilliant friend @m_giacchino wrote this theme before I ever shot a frame of @TheBatman. I can still remember listening to it in my car with #DylanClark before we went onto the stage to do #RobertPattinson's screen test. We both had chills. Listen now: https://t.co/1t4ExcwfZd pic.twitter.com/hACMoP9bT0January 21, 2022
How does The Batman connect to the larger DC Universe?
Despite their best efforts (or at least, efforts), Warner Bros. has not been able to create the same kind of interconnected universe of films and characters that Marvel has with the MCU. Now that they are officially moving on from the Snyderverse (despite fans’ protests), it appears that the plan is for DC characters to stand on their own, with any potential crossovers coming through another common trick the MCU is now also employing — the multiverse (though that might not be what DC ends up calling it).
We know this because the upcoming The Flash movie will be the first real dip into this new look strategy. Ezra Miller is reprising his role as The Flash from Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and in it he will be teaming up with Batman, multiple Batmen; Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton have both been confirmed as starring in The Flash. As far as we know, Robert Pattinson’s iteration of the character is not confirmed for The Flash, but many speculate that it will at the very least confirm that all the films are in some way connected to DC’s Extended Universe.
