After the first trailer for The Batman was released, it was clear that fans were in store for a much darker (if possible) and brutal depiction of the iconic DC character, as a slower, orchestral version of "Something In The Way" by Nirvana set the tone. Now, director Matt Reeves has shared that one of the biggest inspirations for Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight comes from Kurt Cobain.
The Batman director recalled that when he was writing the script for the film, he had music playing in the background (as he does when writing for many of his films). In this case, however, it was a track by the popular '90s grunge band Nirvana. Immediately, Reeves knew that the song, other than setting the right mood for his story, was crucial to shaping Pattinson's character.
“When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way’,” Reeves shared during an interview with Empire. “That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse. So I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalised version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor.” Reeves would also further mention how Pattinson's electric performance in the Safdie Brothers' Good Time truly convinced him that he was right for the role and that his vulnerability mixed with desperation was an aspect that could really make a convincing Bruce Wayne / Batman.
While Pattinson's even darker version looks to carry over many similarities from the Christain Bale and Ben Affleck versions of Batman, the main difference in this upcoming film is that Pattinson's Batman will not rely as heavily on flashy gadgets like how Bale relied on Lucius Fox in The Dark Knight trilogy. Pattinson said, “He’s not really a socialite at all. He’s building all these little contraptions and things, just with Alfred. And even Alfred thinks he’s gone insane!”
As for the new Batsuit, a more rugged, homemade style fits not only the grimmer universe but Pattinson's character traits as well. “He’s been out every single night for two years, getting beaten up and shot and stabbed and burnt, and it shows,” Pattinson explains. “There’s a bullet graze on the cowl, right at the beginning. I don’t think that’s been done before.”
Originally set to release in June 2020, the pandemic pushed The Batman back numerous times, eventually settling for a March 4th, 2022, release. Instead of being another addition to the DCEU, Reeves' film will follow Batman's early years of fighting crime, as he is forced to face Gotham City's most ruthless criminals like The Riddler and Penguin. The film's cast also includes Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, John Turturro as crime lord Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as district attorney Gil Colson, and Barry Keoghan as young officer Stanley Merkel. There are also two direct sequels in the works, with another two spin-off series set to release on the HBO Max streaming service.
The Batman is set to release in theatres on March 4th, 2022.
Source: Empire