Matt Reeves Reveals How the New Batmobile Is Inspired by Stephen King

With the upcoming The Batman, director Matt Reeves is tasked with reimagining all manner of elements when it comes to delivering a fresh take on the Caped Crusader, which also means finding new inspiration for his iconic ride, the Batmobile. Given that the film takes place in the early years of Bruce Wayne’s career as a crimefighter, Reeves wanted to not only get more rudimentary, but also craft a vehicle as intimidating as Batman himself, resulting in him using Stephen King’s novel Christine as inspiration for his take on the ride. The Batman is expected to land in theaters on March 4, 2022.

“It has to make an appearance out of the shadows to intimidate, so I thought of it almost like Stephen King’s Christine,” Reeves recently shared with Empire Magazine. “I liked the idea of the car itself as a horror figure, making an animalistic appearance to really scare the hell out of the people Batman’s pursuing.”

As witnessed in the trailers for the film, Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) is straying away from the tactical-minded vehicles seen in other films and has instead seemingly souped up his ride to be lean, mean, and terrifying. In Christine, a 1958 Plymouth Fury is restored by a teenager and comes to life on its own to seek revenge against anyone who torments its new owner. Based on these remarks, Reeves wanted to embrace the frightening nature of a vehicle with a mind of its own, on fire, and bearing down on its targets. 

In The Batman, “Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens. When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.”

The Batman is expected to hit theaters on March 4, 2022.

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