'The Batman': Four batty questions we have about the tantalizing new trailer

The bat and the cat are at it in Gotham, and​​ we’ve got a trailer to prove it. This is the third trailer, in fact, in the lead up to Matt Reeves’ hotly anticipated The Batman reboot. And while this trailer gives us more details about Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman and reveals that Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne is more of a rich recluse than a billionaire playboy, the clip's two minutes and 38 seconds leave us with more questions than answers about what’s going on in Gotham.

Here are some questions we can wait to have answered when the movie premieres in theaters on Mar. 4, 2022. 

Who knows that Bruce Wayne is really… the Batman?

Did you know that Bruce Wayne is actually Batman? Turns out, you and Alfred (Andy Serkis) aren’t the only ones who are in on the secret! This trailer drops hints that the Riddler (Paul Dano) also knows who's under the mask, though that could be a trailer editing trick. 

Someone else who might find out Bruce and Batman are the same guy is Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. The two have plenty of screen time together in this trailer, and the clip suggests that she might uncover Batman’s secret identity at one point as well. The scene that most strongly hints at this is when Bruce is still wearing Batman eye makeup in a club where we also see Catwoman. Things are left ambiguous enough, however, that it’s hard to make a call either way.

Why is the Riddler after the Waynes?

“It’s all about the Waynes,” Catwoman tells Batman at one point, most likely referring to the Riddler’s murderous machinations. Why is the Riddler after the Waynes? We hear him say multiple times (and write the same on people’s faces) that he wants to end the lies in Gotham, which he also calls a cesspool of a city at one point. Were Bruce’s parents involved in some nefarious schemes before they died? Is the Riddler, like the woman at the beginning of the trailer, annoyed that Bruce isn’t directing his wealth toward philanthropic services? 

Perhaps there are clues in the overhead shot we get in the trailer of a shirtless Bruce walking across a crime scene, where the Riddler presumably scattered photos and spraypainted phrases such as “renewal is a lie.” What exactly does the Riddler mean about renewal? We don't know but it seems to have him pretty worked up. 

Will the Bat and the Cat be on the same side the whole time?

Warner Bros.

This trailer is titled “The Bat and The Cat,” and gives us plenty of both characters. We get some sizzling action between the two at one point, and we also get hints that the two will join forces to presumably try to take down the Riddler. Bruce says at one point, however, that he’s not sure if Catwoman is Batman’s friend or not, and we’re not sure either. Will the two always work together? Or will there be a crucial moment where Catwoman and/or Batman go against the other? 

Why is Bruce and Alfred’s relationship on the rocks?

“For all these years, you lied to me Alfred,” Bruce says in the back half of the trailer. What, exactly, did Alfred lie about? It has to be something big to have the two be on what seems to be very icy terms. Perhaps it has to do with the lies the Riddler is talking about as he goes about murdering people and blowing up buildings? Even if that’s the case, we still don’t know what this sordid secret is all about. We’ll have to wait until March, it seems, to get the answers. 

The Batman swoops into theaters to answer all our burning questions on Mar. 4, 2022.