While audiences are very excited to see The Batman starring Robert Pattinson, they’ll sadly have to wait until the spring of 2022 to see this new, younger Batman in action. This new film, while still featuring a man dressing as a bat to beat up thugs, looks as though it will likely be a far darker approach to the character than what has been seen previously. This isn’t anything new to the character of Batman, as many of the comics have gone down very dark paths before. For those excited for, or even those unsure of, this darker tone, there are a few example films one can take a look at leading up to The Batman’s release that will give a fairly good primer on what one can expect.
Following a much younger Bruce Wayne, who is around 30 years old in this depiction, The Batman sets up a story with a lot of dark angles. This version of the character is reportedly an insomniac who begins to blur his personal line between Batman the vigilante and Bruce Wayne the millionaire. This blurring causes his psyche to slowly deteriorate over the course of the film, and the various characters he’ll meet along the way often don’t help his mental state. There are various dark angles that make up the whole of this film, and it takes a lot of inspiration from three movies in particular.
Se7en: The Detectives On A Dark Path
Se7en tells the story of two detectives who are on the case of a religion-based serial killer. This mysterious foe sets up elaborate machinations to fool the detectives and each of his kills takes after one of the seven deadly sins. There is a lot of horrific violence in this film that likely won’t be present in The Batman, however, there are certain parallels that one can certainly glean from this dark film.
The main push of Se7en is following the two lead detectives as they attempt to track down this maniacal murderer. While catching the killer is high on their priority list, the film also follows how the two detectives bond. This duality will likely be reflected in the relationship between Batman and Gordon. These two will work to figure out The Riddler’s schemes and stop his plans before it’s too late. The Batman will probably follow a similar progression of Batman being pushed to his limits as the evil plot is kept under wraps until the very last minute.
Zodiac: The Mysterious Villain
Zodiac, based on the 1986 true-crime novel of the same name, tells the story of the still-unknown Zodiac killer. In the 1970s, a mysterious killer who identified himself as the “Zodiac” taunted police with mysterious, cryptic letters sent to them and newspapers. Teams of people worked to decode these messages, as the killer often stated that his identity was hidden in his messages. While nobody was ever actually convicted of these crimes, there are multiple theories on the person, or persons, that could have been the Zodiac killer.
The Batman is taking inspiration from this terrifying point in history for its main antagonist, The Riddler. While typically a character who is a bit more eccentric and laughable, The Riddler in this new film comes across much darker and more sadistic. His machinations in The Batman come with serial murders and cryptic messages to police, almost exactly in line with Zodiac. While it appears that the identity of The Riddler will be known, his plan likely won’t reveal itself until it’s nearly too late.
Chinatown: Sometimes The Battle Can’t Truly Be Won
Chinatown follows an investigator looking into corrupt land deals being made around Los Angeles by powerful people. There are multiple sources of inspiration that The Batman could pull from this film. Much of the story follows a mystery that seems simple on the surface, but the further it’s investigated the more corruption that is revealed. It’s possible that as Batman investigates The Riddler and Gotham’s underworld he’ll discover that Gotham’s elite, including his own parents, may not be so squeaky clean either. This is a major theme of Chinatown and it seems as though The Riddler’s plot will be to reveal this corruption and how deep it goes.
Another possible inspiration for The Batman to take is tied to Chinatown’s ending. Without spoiling it, things don’t exactly end on the happiest note. Based on what has been shown in The Batman’s trailer thus far, it’s very possible that it may go the same route. While Batman will almost certainly prevail at the end of the day, he may be facing a pyrrhic victory once the dust has settled. This could come in the form of the memory of his parents being tarnished or someone may even die. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how The Batman is able to balance all of these inspirations without feeling derivative while also providing its own fresh takes on these themes.
The Batman will be released in theaters on March 4th, 2022.