New Teaser Offers First Glimpse of Robert Pattinson in “The Batman”

Could Batman be more goth? We're about to find out.

Robert Pattinson in the new movie "The Batman"
Robert Pattinson in "The Batman."
Warner Bros.

It’s 2020, and what once seemed like a fever dream is now an undeniable part of the pop cultural landscape: superheroes are big business. Comic conventions, once home to a small but dedicated subculture, now regularly offer first looks at future blockbusters. But because it’s 2020, holding a convention in the manner that they’ve been held in the past is temporarily impossible.

Cue a slew of virtual conventions, including a 2-part event called DC FanDome, the first half of which recently concluded. The event brought with it a number of trailers for upcoming projects, some of them on the verge of release and others based largely around concept art. And it included a teaser trailer for arguably the event’s most-anticipated film, The Batman.

The latest actor to play Bruce Wayne on screen is Robert Pattinson; the film’s director is Matt Reeves, whose earlier work includes Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Cloverfield. The trailer also prominently features Jeffrey Wright; plenty of Jeffrey Wright screen time is rarely a bad thing.

With a release date of October 21, 2021, The Batman offers a look at the vigilante early in his career. How Reeves’s approach will differ from, say, that of Christopher Nolan remains to be seen. But Pattinson’s look for the character — which conjured memories of The Crow for many viewers of a certain age — does seem unique among onscreen Batmen.


If you are craving a different cinematic Batman, Polygon’s Michael McWhertor notes that both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton will reprise their takes on the character for a film featuring the Flash and set for release in 2022. Crisis on Infinite Batmen, anyone?

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