It's no secret that superhero movies are everywhere, as comic book adaptations have proven themselves endlessly profitable over the past decade of film. But certain heroes stand out among the rest as fan favorites and get multiple film adaptations, such as DC's Batman. A new version of the Dark Knight will debut with Matt Reeves' The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the title character. And the film's cinematographer Greig Fraserhas teased the upcoming blockbuster's darkness.
Greig Fraser has had a long and successful work as a cinematographer, eventually winning an Academy Award for his work on on the movie Lion. Other notable projects include Rogue One and Vice, and now he's turning his talents to the DCEU for the first time with The Batman. Filming for Matt Reeves' upcoming solo flick is expected to kick up shortly, and now Greig Fraser has tease the darkness of the movie, and how that factors into his process. As he put,
It’s a good question and it’s a question we ask ourselves. I can’t talk specifically of course. There’s darkness in the character for sure and we need to create a mood, which is obvious, it’s a Batman film. I don’t think it’s going to be oppressively dark in terms of visually, because that’s not what we’re trying to (do). We’re not trying to have a competition about who can go the darkest of the darkest of the darkest. We’re trying to create intrigue. I love the way some of the comics look. You can see relatively quite clearly in those graphic novels.
Well, this is intriguing. It looks like The Batman will have an appropriate amount of darkness, both in its contents and visual language. But it doesn't sound like Matt Reeves is trying to make the most extreme Batman movie ever made. What's more, it seems to be taking a more heavy inspiration from the character's life in the comics.
In his conversation with Collider, Greig Fraser was careful not to actually reveal anything about the contents of The Batman. Still, his comments seem to indicate that Matt Reeves and company aren't trying to go dark or brutal for the sake of it. Instead, the movie's contents and visuals are set out to reflect Bruce Wayne's inner turmoil.
There's no telling what Matt Reeves has in store for The Batman, but he's assembled a strong cast to occupy Gotham City, and re-introduce The Dark Knight to the DC Extended Universe. Robert Pattinson's title character will be interacting with a trio of villains, Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), Penguin (Colin Farrell), and Riddler (Paul Dano). Also filling out the cast are Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis as James Gordon and Alfred respectively.
All of the reports from The Batman's set have only helped to built anticipation, as the cast and crew have praised Matt Reeves' directors vision. We'll just have to wait for more sneak peeks onto the set once production picks up in the U.K. Luckily, the movie has the potential to be one of the first big blockbusters to continue production.
The Batman is currently set to hit theaters on October 1st, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
