The Batman May Be Even Darker Than the Trailer Suggests

The Batman teasers give us new looks at Batman, Selina Kyle, and the Riddler ahead of the second trailer, which will be released at DC Fandome 2021 this weekend.

Robert Pattinson in The Batman
Photo: Warner Bros.

The Batman made waves last year when its first trailer released during the inaugural DC Fandome digital event, and all eyes are on the movie once again as Warner Bros. prepares to drop a second look at the movie. Batfans would do well to keep an eye on this Saturday’s DC Fandome 2021, which will not only feature director Matt Reeves and star Robert Pattinson but also a second trailer for the film reboot.

But if you can’t wait that long, WB has treated us to two very tiny teasers, including a shot from the upcoming second trailer. “Can’t wait to show you more at #DCFanDome this Saturday,” wrote Reeves on Twitter, where he shared an image of Pattinson’s Dark Knight watching over his city from a Gotham rooftop as the sun goes down. He’s undoubtedly preparing to hunt some criminals.

The second teaser, released on the movie’s official Twitter handle, doesn’t feature any other images of the Batman for fans to obsess over. Instead, it gives fans a taste of the tone they should expect from this new take on the Caped Crusader. In short, it’s safe to say Pattinson won’t be doing the Batusi in this movie.

“It’s not just a signal; it’s a warning,” reads the short teaser video of rain pouring down on the new Bat signal…

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A lot has already been written about how dark and gritty The Batman looks. In the first trailer, shots of a clearly troubled Bruce Wayne were complemented by one particularly violent scene where the Dark Knight beats the absolute crap out of a hooligan while shouting, “I’m vengeance,” into his undoubtedly bloodied face. It’s a display that freezes a gang in fear. Certainly, while big-screen Batmen have hardly been shy about maiming evil-doers in the past (and we’re not even sure what this gang was up to when Pattinson showed up; they look like kids), this may already be the most gratuitous instance of “crime-fighting” in Bat-movie history. It’s undoubtedly just a taste of what’s to come in this much darker take clearly inspired by The Crow and Se7en as well as the late Darwyn Cooke’s psychological exploration of the character in Batman: Ego.

I keep going back to the idea of the Bat signal as a “warning.” When coupled with scenes from the first trailer, it suggests that Reeves has put together something much darker than we’ve ever seen on screen — and Zack Snyder had Batman branding and killing people like an absolute maniac. Here, the Bat signal seems to mean the Dark Knight is hunting, and if you step out of line, you get sent to the emergency room.

It pushes Gary Oldman’s admission in The Dark Knight that he turns on the signal to let the criminals know the Batman is out there into the literal. This Batman will literally punch your face in until it’s mush if you act up. It’s a big departure from recent comic book runs by writers like Scott Snyder and Tom King who have depicted the Bat signal as a symbol of hope meant to inspire Gothamites to stand strong in a crisis, a literal beacon of light in the darkness. Here it’s just meant to symbolize fear.

Who knows if the line from the promo will even pop up in the movie. It could just be some marketing for the fanboys who like their superhero dramas dark and gritty. Either way, is what we’ve seen and heard so far too dark for even the Batman?

While we wait for the second trailer, WB and Reeves have also revealed new looks at Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle and Paul Dano’s Riddler.

Expect to see a lot more of these two during Fandome.

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The Batman hits theaters on March 4.