The Batman Writer Talks About How Trauma Will Shape This Version Of The Character

The Batman, the next film to portray DC's caped crusader, is currently in the works, and there's still a lot that is unclear about the project. It stars Robert Pattinson as Batman, and will be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield). It'll premiere in October 2021, and now, thanks to the co-writer, we have some sense of what the movie is going for.

In an interview with Den of Geek, script co-writer Mattson Tomlin talked about the film, and what will make it distinct from previous Batman films, including Inception director Christopher Nolan's trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises). "It's tough to talk about, just because you want the movie to speak for itself," Tomlin said, but went on to share some details.

I think that, first of all, it’s a younger version than the most recent versions that we’ve seen," he says. Pattinson is 34, however, which actually makes him a year older than Christian Bale was he he portrayed the character.

He goes on to discuss Matt Reeves as a filmmaker, saying that he's "always coming from a point of emotion" rather than focusing purely on action, and touches on how this will inform his Batman. "I think that really looking at Batman as somebody who has gone through this trauma, and then everything that he’s doing is then a reaction to that, rather than shy away from that, I think this film leans into that in some very fun and surprising ways," Tomlin says.

In the replies to Screen Rant's tweet about the statement, people have pointed out that this isn't exactly an original take on Batman, who has, in the wake of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, almost always been portrayed as having a tragic, traumatic back story.

Other actors attached to the film include Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman), Colin Farrell (The Penguin), Andy Serkis (Alfred), Paul Dano (The Riddler), and Jeffrey Wright (James Gordon).

One of the highlights of the film's marketing so far has been the wild, strange interviews that Pattinson gives. You'll be able to see him on Netflix next month in The Devil All The Time.