Last weekend fans finally got their first look at Matt Reeves' forthcoming Batman movie, simply titled, The Batman. We all got to see Robert Pattinson in the title role and see how he would be playing the caped crusader. There was a lot to appreciate in the new trailer if you're a fan of Batman. The movie set up a mystery for the World's Greatest Detective to try and solve, which is an aspect of the character we haven't seen as much on screen. Of course, if you prefer to just see a dark and violent vigilante beat the hell out of people, the movie looks to have that too. Zack Snyder was a particular fan of that.
The man who created the previous big-screen Batman, Zack Snyder, recently appeared on Reel in Motion where one of the hosts suggested the level of violence seen in the trailer could indicate a movie that's eventually rated-R. While Snyder had no details on what the rating could end up being, he did admit that he thinks going in that direction was the right call for the film. According to Snyder...
I dunno what the rating is going to be but I felt the same way [about Batman beating that guy]. I was like what the…I actually just texted Matt after and I was like, ‘What the fuck! This is cool!... I loved it. I thought it was so cool. I thought it was like the right direction and everything about it. As far as just a fan of a movie, it’s the kind of movie I want to see, so I felt like [two thumbs up].
The trailer shows a sequence where Batman stands opposite a group of face-painted thugs. Batman gets physical with one of them, leading to a series of punches, and an audible crack to indicate that Batman breaks the guy's arm. The other guy never even gets a shot in and after Batman takes his opponent to the ground, the punches keep coming. It's certainly the most violent moment in the trailer.
It's maybe not too shocking that Zack Snyder loved that aspect of The Batman. Ben Affleck's portrayal of the character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a similarly brutal version of the character. While the Justice League version was perhaps a bit toned down from that, it's not a stretch to believe we will likely see a version of Batman more in line with Dawn of Justice in Zack Snyder's Justice League when it appears on HBO Max next year.
If you missed The Batman trailer, or just want to watch Robert Pattinson beating the snot out of somebody again, check it out below.
It's impossible to know from a single trailer how representative of the final film it really is. There will be plenty more chances in the coming months. The Batman is set for release in October of 2021.
