Batman Has No Friends And Will Arnett Wants To Know Why

Why does Batman suck at friendship? Maybe Will Arnett has the answer.

While the Caped Crusader has always surrounded himself with brightly colored sidekicks to take on his rogues, the character is typically portrayed as a curmudgeon throughout all media.

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In his brick debut during The Lego Movie, Batman was pretty selfish when dealing with his former girlfriend Wyldstyle. And he’s self-centered enough to demand his own movie.

That sort of narcissism informed Arnett’s approach to the character and he was eager to explore that aspect.

“I’m just a loner in the sense that nobody wants to be my friend,” Arnett said at a red carpet event for the premier of The LEGO Batman Movie. “We really loved the idea that he’s Bruce Wayne, he’s Batman, he’s a superhero, he’s a billionaire playboy, and yet he’s got no friends. Why?”

The film’s director Chris McKay leaned into that interpretation for his film.

“We wanted to attack Batman’s core problem and make a film about him overcoming the hurt in his heart and maybe letting some people into his life,” said McKay. “It’s something that other Batman movies can’t do because, he’s Batman, but we wanted it to be ‘About a Boy’ meets Michael Mann, with a lot of jokes.”

[h/t] Variety

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made The LEGO Movie a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

Will Arnett reprises his starring role from The LEGO Movie as the voice of LEGO Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. Zach Galifianakis (Hangover films) stars as The Joker; Michael Cera (TV’s Arrested Development) as the orphan Dick Grayson; Rosario Dawson (TV’s Daredevil) as Barbara Gordon; and Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter films) as Alfred.

The LEGO Batman Movie is directed by Chris McKay and produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Roy Lee, who worked together on The LEGO Movie. It is written by Seth Grahame-Smith and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, with additional screenplay material by Jared Stern & John Whittington, based on LEGO Construction Toys. Jill Wilfert, Matthew Ashton and Will Allegra serve as executive producers.

The LEGO Batman Movie opens in theaters on February 10, 2017.

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