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Catwoman, Riddler & sinister rhymes: Breaking down The Batman trailer's hardboiled clues
What a day, people. DC FanDome's first wave of programming has come to an end, and it did not disappoint when it came to delivering on the goods. Over the last eight hours or so, fans got to feast their eyes on new or debut footage for major Warner Bros./DC projects like Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad, and Zack Snyder's Justice League. However, the digital convention saved the best for last: the first exciting teaser trailer for Matt Reeves' The Batman.
Written by Reeves and Mattson Tomlin (Netflix's Project Power), the upcoming reboot was only able to film about 25 percent of the script before production shut down over coronavirus concerns. Nevertheless, Reeves couldn't show up to FanDome empty-handed, and decided to cut together a two-and-a-half minute trailer that sets up a gritty and hardboiled Gotham City, populated by unsavory felons and watched over by Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne.
Unless it's postponed again, The Batman will arrive in theaters everywhere next October. In the meantime, we'll just be over here, examining every single frame of the teaser under a microscope until they yield every ounce of meaning to us. Here's a short breakdown of the biggest stuff that stood out to us thus far, and the mysteries that have yet to be solved.
Duct tape fixes everything:
The trailer begins on ominous note with a masked assailant duct taping a message that says "no more lies" on a dead man's face. It's a rather unsettling crime that not only brings in the Gotham PD, but the FBI as well. Right off the bat (pun very much intended), Reeves is infusing his Caped Crusader flick with an almost David Fincher-y vibe.
Gordon & Batsy:
While the movie is said to take place in Batman's early crime-fighting days, it seems like the vigilante already has a professional relationship with Jeffrey Wright's world-weary Commissioner Gordon when the story first begins.
Sinister rhymes:
Someone is leaving unpleasant rhyming messages for Batman and we have a pretty shrewd idea of who it could be: Edward Nashton, aka Riddler (played by Paul Dano).
Is this the Batcave?
In this shot, Bruce rides his motorcycle into what looks like the decrepit foyer of a once-lavish mansion. Computers, work stations, and various doodads are scattered about the darkened space, which recalls the underground garage in The Dark Knight. Could this be the latest iteration of the Batcave?
Evil pen pal:
"Why's he writing to you?" inquires Alfred (Andy Serkis) as a poor hostage crashes a car into a church function, so as to deliver another letter to the Batman. One again, we're reminded of David Fincher's gritty and noir-inspired S7ven.
Meow:
Hello there, Selina Kyle. Here is our first look at Zoë Kravitz's cat burglar in action. A few seconds later, we can see her throwing down with Batman, who's probably there to stop her thieving ways.
Penguin?
This doesn't look like John Turturro (who's playing Carmine Falcone), so we're going to go out on a limb here and say this is Colin Farrell, hidden under a bunch of makeup and extra weight as Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin. When the character exclaims, "Whoa! This guy's crazy!" later in the teaser, it definitely sounds a lot like Farrell.
"I'm vengeance"
This is Pattinson's big "I'm Batman" moment. Sure, he utters this line after beating the ever-loving snot out of a Crow wannabe, but we have to remember: this is a version of Gotham's Dark Knight who is still finding his footing. Right now, he's young, brash, and looking to pick a fight.
Start your engines
Reeves unveiled some first images of the new Batmobile back in early March, but nothing compares to seeing this rocket-powered baby in action. It's got an old school design that feels like a mixture of Batman's car from the '60s TV show and KITT from Knight Rider.
