Much of the talk surrounding Matt Reeves' The Batman is about how the film would compare to other classic Batman adaptations, particularly Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Now, The Dark Knight trilogy writer David S. Goyer has shared his honest thoughts about the caped crusader's latest film.
Goyer, who worked on the story throughout The Dark Knight trilogy, co-wrote the Batman Begins screenplay with Nolan before Nolan's brother, Jonathan, took over screenplay duties on the following two films. Other than his Batman writing credits, Goyer also worked on other blockbusters such as Blade: Trinity (on which he also served as a director), Jumper, Man of Steel, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Goyer gave his honest thoughts on The Batman, pointing out how the film's use of narration really gave a new perspective to the character of Bruce Wayne/Batman. "A lot of Batman stories are told from an objective standpoint. You’re showing different characters as they relate to Batman, and we’re on the outside looking in. But what was interesting with something like this is that you almost have to figure out ways for Bruce or Batman to narrate it," Goyer shared. "So that allows us a more internal or more subjective perspective on the character that we don’t frequently see depicted."
Goyer also added how the whole experience was a rewarding one, as he was able to enjoy The Batman as a fan rather than a writer. "It was rewarding for me. It’s interesting because when you read Batman comics, there are miniseries, graphic novels, Earth One versions, Elseworlds stories and Black Label stories, and all of these different writers and artists doing their particular take on a Batman story," Goyer said. "So, many of them are quite different and many of them are quite unusual, and that’s one of the fun parts of consuming comic books."
Goyer would go on to add, "So I just saw [The Batman] fairly recently in Prague, and I didn’t know exactly what to expect or what I would think of it. I saw it with a number of my crew members on Foundation, and they were all expecting me to hate it. But I really enjoyed it a lot. (Laughs.) It was a fun experience. I really like [Robert] Pattinson’s Batman, and I like what they did with the Riddler. Reeves is a really good filmmaker, so I was in for the ride." Interestingly enough, Goyer also shared that he and Christopher Nolan wanted to explore Batman's detective side even further in The Dark Knight, labelling the character as more of a forensics detective in that trilogy.
Now with The Batman 2 officially in development, let's hope that Reeves and the whole crew continue delving deeper into Batman's detective side. Until more details surrounding the sequel are announced, fans can revisit the newly established universe Reeves has created by streaming The Batman on HBO Max. To satisfy fans, even more, two other spin-off series are in early development for HBO Max, one following Colin Farrell's Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin and the other focusing on Arkham Asylum.
The Batman is now available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter