Last summer, during the DC FanDome: Hall of Heroes virtual event, the first trailer for Matt Reeves’ The Batman premiered. While we’d already gotten a few looks at the Caped Crusader’s next movie, including Robert Pattinson wearing the Batsuit and the new Batmobile, there’s nothing that beats a good trailer to learn what’s in store for an upcoming movie. Now someone has remade The Batman trailer as a stylish cartoon, and it looks mighty impressive.
A lot of people enjoy remaking popular trailers, whether it’s using LEGO or relying on footage from other movies and TV shows. YouTuber TheArt91Lee opted for slick 2D animation to remake The Batman trailer, and you can see the fruits of their labor below:
Not only is this animation beautiful, it’s especially fitting for The Batman trailer. The colors and movement of the characters evoke the same noir feeling that this movie is going for, and the Dark Knight himself and Paul Dano’s Riddler look extra creepy through this aesthetic. Like a lot of movie fans, I’m obviously looking forward to The Batman’s release, but after checking out the original product, I wouldn’t mind watching a version of it entirely animated in this style.
Had things gone according to Warner Bros’ and DC’s original plan, we’d only be a little over two months away from The Batman’s release, as it was once slated for June 25, 2021. Unfortunately, like so many movies, The Batman was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in production being paused for about half a year. As a result, the movie was first pushed back to October 1, 2021, and then it was pushed again to its current March 4, 2022 slot. Even now, there’s no guarantee that The Batman won’t be delayed again, but at least principal photography finally wrapped up last month.
When The Batman first entered development, it was supposed to be a movie following Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne battling Joe Manganiello’s Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke. But all that changed when Affleck stepped down and Matt Reeves, who helmed the latter two Planet of the Apes reboot movies, was hired to write and direct a brand-new story. Now The Batman is set in a separate reality from the DCEU, with Robert Pattinson’s Bruce only in his second year of crimefighting. There’s also an HBO Max series in development exploring the Gotham City Police Department in Batman’s first year on the scene.
As for who’s joining Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano (with Riddler serving as the story’s main antagonist), The Batman’s cast includes Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, John Tuturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson and Jayme Lawson as Bella Reál. In addition to directing, Matt Reeves also co-wrote the script with Mattson Tomlin and Peter Craig. The Batman is intended to be the first installment of a new trilogy, although The Batman 2 hasn’t officially been greenlit yet.
While we wait for more The Batman-related news items, including the inevitable second trailer, don’t forget to scan through our upcoming DC movies guide to learn what else this corner of the superhero movie market has in store.
