Spring 2022 looks rather distant, but that will not stop the teases, leaks and speculation likely to stem from the constant outpouring of photographs that continue to surface from The Batman’s locations. So far Matt Reeves and company have set camp in the UK, where filming for The Batman will continue until it heads for Chicago later on.
Even if the UK production work has not gone without its share of incidents, most notably Robert Pattinson contracting COVID-19, things are moving along smoothly. While no exact details are known about The Batman’s plot, over on this side of the pond the Chicago crew has let one small prop confirm that the story will be placed in a modern timeline.
This most recent leak comes in the form of a rather innocent looking taxi and limo medallion, clearly issued by Gotham City’s corrupt administration in 2019. This, coupled with the presence of smartphones in The Batman’s reveal trailer, is enough to dismiss any other time settings, save for any flashbacks from the film’s new incarnations of Batman universe characters.
Previously, DC Films president Walter Hamada had confirmed to a Multiverse 101 panel that The Batman has no connection whatsoever to Ben Affleck’s DCEU bat nor is it tied to Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, thus granting this new entry a wide and refreshed creative license to explore Bruce Wayne's world.
Therefore, Reeves has his work cut out for him as he will be tasked with envisioning how confirmed Gotham residents like Catwoman, Penguin, Carmine Falcone and the Riddler will be portrayed this time around. Also, as Reeves expressed during DC FanDome, he sees the depiction of Gotham as something on par in terms of importance to the cast of characters, wanting to show a very different Gotham from Tim Burton’s artsy take, Christopher Nolan’s very urban approach in his trilogy or even Gotham's wholly art deco look in television.
If one thing is certain, both from official sources and leaks, is that The Batman will be heavily leaning towards the more “realistic” and grim vision that Nolan put to great effect in his trilogy. Perhaps that partly explains Reeves' choice to shoot overseas for now, where Pattinson's fashion-forward eye shadow look certainly pairs better with the weather.
The Batman is currently under reproduction and scheduled for release on March 4, 2022.
Source: ComicBook