The Batman (2022)

The Batman is a 2022 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman. Directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay he wrote with Peter Craig, it is a reboot of the Batman film franchise produced by DC Films. Robert Pattinson stars as Bruce Wayne / Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. The film sees Batman, in his second year fighting crime in Gotham City, uncover corruption with ties to his own family while pursuing the Riddler (Dano), a mysterious serial killer targeting the city's elite. A new Batman film for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) franchise starring Ben Affleck as the character was announced in October 2014. Affleck signed on to direct, produce, co-write, and star in The Batman by 2016, but had reservations about the project and dropped out in January 2017. Reeves took over the following month and reworked the story, removing the DCEU connections to focus on a younger version of the character earlier in his vigilante career compared to Affleck's portrayal. He sought to explore Batman's detective side more than previous films, drawing inspiration from the films of Alfred Hitchcock and the New Hollywood era, and comics such as "Year One" (1987), The Long Halloween (1996–97), and Ego (2000). Pattinson was cast in May 2019, with additional casting taking place later that year. Filming began in the United Kingdom in January 2020 but was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic two months later. Production resumed later in the year and concluded in March 2021. The Batman was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on March 4, 2022, three days after premiering at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and was delayed twice from its original June 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $772 million against a $185–200 million budget, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2022. It received positive reviews from critics, was nominated for three awards at the 95th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. The film is intended to start a new Batman trilogy and shared universe called the "Batman Epic Crime Saga", with a sequel, The Batman: Part II, scheduled for October 1, 2027, while a spin-off television series starring Farrell, The Penguin, debuted on HBO in 2024.