The Batman Star Teases the Film’s “Badass”, but Grounded Batmobile

The Batman remains one of the most highly-anticipated projects in DC’s arsenal, as Matt Reeves and company attempt to usher in an entirely new kind of Gotham City storytelling. While production is currently shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we did get first looks at elements of the film earlier this year — including several photos of its epic Batmobile. According to Jeffrey Wright, who will play Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming blockbuster, the Batmobile represents the film’s unique approach to the modern-day, as he explained on a recent episode of SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show (via The Hollywood Reporter).

“I read the script for the Batmobile and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s it,’” Wright explained. “[Bruce Wayne] created the most badass muscle car you could imagine, but it’s grounded in Gotham. It’s grounded in Americana.”

This lines up with other comments that have been made about the film, which significantly highlight the feeling that Batman is a “man of the people”.

“I’m going to pitch the version of Batman that I would do, which is going to have a humanist bent. And who knows if they’ll have any interest? If they don’t, then I won’t do it. And that’ll be okay,” director and co-writer Matt Reeves said in an interview last month. “I was really lucky that they said yes.”

“It’s not even like that’s an approach that I take, like it’s some kind of idea of, ‘Wouldn’t it be great?’ It’s sort of the only thing that allows me to understand how to do it,” Reeves continued. “I can only understand where the camera goes and how to talk about the story, how to write the story, how to talk to the actors, if I understand emotionally what it is I have to do. Otherwise I’d be lost.”

The Batman will star Robert Pattinson as the titular caped crusader, with Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Paul Dano as The Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as Bella Real, and Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth.

“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 added. “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.”

The Batman is currently expected to be released on October 1, 2021.