A quick news roundup for THE BATMAN…
Per DEADLINE, THE BATMAN will be released in China, though a date for that has not been set…
Matt Reeves says it would be a fun challenge to take the more fantastical villains — Mr. Freeze for example — and make them “grounded” (via COLLIDER)…
In my view, I just feel drawn to finding the grounded version of everything. So to me it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and figure out how that could happen, even the idea of something like Mr. Freeze, that’s such a great story, right? I think there’s actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great. So, I love the fantastical side of Batman, but this iteration, obviously, while being, to me, I think it is very comics faithful, but I don’t think that this one is necessarily, it doesn’t lean as hard into the fantastical, I guess. But I think to me what would be interesting would be to try and unwind the fantastical and see, well, how could that make sense here? And so that’s kind of my view, how I see it.
How do you make Mr. Freeze “grounded?” He’s not literally FROZEN, that’s it, basically. Clayface? Do the original Basil Karlo “Master of Disguise” version of the character. Let’s continue with the roundup…
Robert Pattinson — who has previously said he’d love to see the Court of Owls in a future sequel — would like to see Robin at some point (via COLLIDER)…
Yeah, but he has to be 13. That’s the only way I’ll accept it. No, I love DEATH IN THE FAMILY and stuff, but I think it’d be so cool. Also, people are so scared of it, but it’s kind of exciting. I think it would be a really fun addition.
Clearly, RP is doing a bit (again) with the “he has to be 13” comment, but he seems open to the idea of a THE BATMAN version of Robin — or that’s just a safe thing to say while doing PR for such a huge film. So, what does Matt Reeves think of using Robin in a sequel? Here’s what he had to say about it as well as the pressure that comes with making a Batman movie (via COLLIDER)…
Yeah, there’s no way. We won’t do that. No, I’m kidding. Yeah, totally, I agree with that. The thing about doing a Batman movie is it’s scary to do a Batman movie. Because, first of all, there’ve been great ones, and also every single one of you has a vision of Batman in your head. And so we’re competing with the vision that… I mean, one of the things I was doing when I was writing, I was walking down the street one day, and I suddenly noticed, I was like, “Oh my God, Batman sweatshirt. Oh my God, Batman cap.” You literally, if you just notice it, I mean I was talking to some round tables today, people have their Batman shirts on.
Look, I’m not the biggest Robin fan in the world of Batman fandom, but I get the importance of the character to everything that is “Batman,” if you will. So yeah, I’d be OK with Matt Reeves doing his version of Robin and making it fit in the world of THE BATMAN.
Fantastical villains, Robin, whatever. Let’s get to the sequels when we get to the sequels, OK? THE BATMAN is coming in less than 3 weeks, so let’s focus on it, shall we? Speaking of THE BATMAN, I will be seeing the film on 2/22/22 and my review will be available here at BOF on 2/28/22 at 6PM Texas (Central) Time. Stay tuned. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
THE BATMAN hits theaters on March 4, 2022. Follow BOF’s Everything About THE BATMAN Page. Make plans to attend BOF’s THE BATMAN Watch Party.
