THE BATMAN TRAILER
Robert Pattinson Goes Dark with Nirvana
The wait is finally over, PROVOKRs. We have footage of Robert Pattinson as Batman. Yes, this is not a drill. DC released the twisted, dark trailer to Matt Reeves’ interpretation of the Caped Crusader at FanDome and the world erupted into absolute chaos. Okay, it was already in turmoil, but Twitter was happy.
The trailer alone is something to marvel over. (Pun not intended.) The “teaser” is a whopping two and one-half minutes. So this one is a long, drawn-out tease designed to attack all of the senses. The first one is sound. As a blood-red Warner Bros. logo appears on the screen, we hear the pull of duct tape. One of the film’s villains, The Riddler (Paul Dano), applies duct tape to his victim. It’s inscribed with the words “no more lies.” Then we get our first glimpse of Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, who reads the riddled note to a strong-jawed Batman (Robert Pattinson).
From there, we see the cohorts and adversaries, including Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman and an unrecognizable Colin Farrell as Penguin. Possibly the most significant transformation lies with Pattison, whose naturally reddish hair is stark black and long. This Bruce Wayne is a different kind of sexy, but it matches the tone the Nirvana song “Something In The Way” provides. Pattinson even beats up a group of imitation Jokers and talks in the iconic, deep, husky Batman voice. Pattison, you nailed it!
Many have noticed comparisons in tone, color and imagery to David Fincher’s Se7en. From its warm but dark hues to words written in blood, the similarities are difficult to miss. The production provided ample footage to make an impressive trailer. Filming for The Batman —-shot in London — was halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only one-quarter of the film is shot and the production may not resume until September. But thank you, Matt Reeves and team for giving us something to look forward to when we return to theaters.
