The Batman’s Jeffrey Wright Calls the Film “the Next Evolution” of Batman Stories

The Batman’s Jeffrey Wright calls this film “the next evolution” of Batman stories. He sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about Matt Reeves‘ upcoming take on The Caped Crusader. One topic that kept cropping up was how the film would push the Bat-mythos forward. It’s no secret that Reeves is a big fan of the character, but he’s repeatedly mentioned that his take on the hero won’t be a straight-up adaptation of a comics storyline. For his part, Wright agrees with that assessment. The Batman is hoping to build upon the legacy that The Dark Knight trilogy and the other movies have previously established. By honoring those stories, this new entry can hope to press even further toward establishing even more possibilities for Batman.

“My take is — the way I explain what we’re doing is, like with any film, we’re working together to create a mood, to create an idea, a setting, a tone,” Wright said. “This is the next evolution since 1939 when these stories began. This is the next evolution of Gotham. So I am working off the stage [director] Matt [Reeves] is providing and also working off what [star] Robert [Pattinson] is doing. We are trying to create something together that is our own, but is also Batman.”

Whatever Reeves comes up with, you can expect it to be unique. He said as much to THR last year.

“Right now, I’m involved in The Batman,” Reeves said. “What it will be called ultimately, I don’t know. Aquaman is going to be very different from the Todd Phillips Joker movie, and that’s going to be different from Shazam and Harley Quinn. Warners believes they don’t have to try to develop a giant slate that has to have all the plans for how it’s going to connect. What they need to try and do is make good movies with these characters.”

“It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale,” he also mentioned. “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.”

The Batman is now set to hit theaters on October 1, 2021.

Are you excited to see even more of The Batman later this year? Let us know in the comments!