The Batman Fan Art Takes Its Cues from Scott Snyder Storyline

Though production on Matt Reeves‘ The Batman is officially underway, fans are already considering an alternate version where the film takes inspiration from a specific storyline. Thanks to a killer new creation by @ultraraw26, one of the first pieces of fan art for the movie since it started production imagines what the film’s teaser poster would look like if it was adapting the “Zero Year” arc from writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo. In the image, Pattinson’s Batman can be seen in costume and toting the backpack that became synonymous with the Dark Knight during that era of the comics. In fact the depicted outfit looks startlingly close to some of first set photos of the character that appeared online earlier this month. Check it out below.

First published from August 2013 until September of 2014, the Zero Year story was set in the early part of Batman’s career and saw Bruce considering some extreme options in his first weeks as a vigilante, even before adopting the Batman persona. He would go on to face villains like the Red Hood Gang, Doctor Death, and The Riddler, who became the primary antagonist of the entire storyline and brought Gotham to a post-apocalyptic like state after flooding the city and cutting off the power grid. As a result, Bruce was forced to adapt to the circumstances, resulting in a bike driving, no-cape wearing, and no sleeve-having version of the Dark Knight.

Based on what we know about The Batman, it’s certainly possible it could be based in part on this storyline. The film will be early in the career of Pattinson’s Batman after all, and The Riddler is set to appear with Paul Dano filling the role. However, Reeves has previously highlighted that the movie will be a detective-driven story with a heavy noir feel, which frankly where not the central pillars of the Zero Year story. It did require the Caped Crusader to outwit The Riddler though, which we’ll almost certainly see in the new film.

“It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale,” the filmmaker said in a previous interview. “It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been. I’d love this to be one where when we go on that journey of tracking down the criminals and trying to solve a crime, it’s going to allow his character to have an arc so that he can go through a transformation.”

Joining Pattinson and Dano in The Batman is a true ensemble cast that includes Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle; Jeffrey Wright as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Jayme Lawson as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis as Alfred; and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot.

The Batman is currently scheduled to fly into theaters June 25, 2021.