"The Batman" - NO SPOILERS

[The Dark Knight]

Personality in the locations has been lacking since Begins, so the UK locations are fantastic decision on the part of Reeves. The selection of Wayne Manor is what I'm curious to see as a result.

A moody Gotham By Gaslight but set in the modern day would be most welcome.



On a side note, Batman's gauntlets strongly evoke the Court of Owls. Has this Batman already encountered them and tailored his suit accordingly?

[Silver Nemesis]

Personality in the locations has been lacking since Begins, so the UK locations are fantastic decision on the part of Reeves. The selection of Wayne Manor is what I'm curious to see as a result.

A moody Gotham By Gaslight but set in the modern day would be most welcome.

I've been re-reading the Batman vampire trilogy lately, and the Gotham in those stories is insanely European.

I don't expect Reeves' Gotham to be anywhere near as extreme as this, but it should have an interesting visual identity to distinguish it from its predecessors.

On a side note, Batman's gauntlets strongly evoke the Court of Owls. Has this Batman already encountered them and tailored his suit accordingly?

I saw this posted on another site.

Some people have complained about the idea of Batman getting his gauntlets from the Court of Owls, but I'm fine with it. The Nolan trilogy showed him adopting the use of ninja bracers following his time with the League of Shadows, and I thought that was a nice addition to the mythology. As long as the explanation for how he gets his gear works in the context of the story they're telling, I'm cool with it.

Apparently some of the casting calls have been asking for extras with circus training, which has led to speculation Haly's Circus might appear. In the New 52 canon, the history of Haly's Circus is connected to that of the Court of Owls. So it sounds like the Talons could make an appearance.

[The Dark Knight]

Some people have complained about the idea of Batman getting his gauntlets from the Court of Owls, but I'm fine with it. The Nolan trilogy showed him adopting the use of ninja bracers following his time with the League of Shadows, and I thought that was a nice addition to the mythology. As long as the explanation for how he gets his gear works in the context of the story they're telling, I'm cool with it.

Apparently some of the casting calls have been asking for extras with circus training, which has led to speculation Haly's Circus might appear. In the New 52 canon, the history of Haly's Circus is connected to that of the Court of Owls. So it sounds like the Talons could make an appearance.

I wouldn't mind either. The Court of Owls are a great concept and I'm all for them being integrated into all aspects of franchise media from now on as an established norm. It can be hard to create memorable villains, especially when Batman's rogues gallery is already so iconic. DC managed to do it with Bane, and they managed it again here with the owls.

From the Scott Snyder run, I don't know if Zero Year was fully appreciated upon release. I think it's something that only gets better with time. I like Year One well enough, but I'm totally cool with that influence being reduced in favor of the Snyder story. I'm going to give it another read soon, especially as a fan of the Riddler being a large scale, credible threat – which we need to see more of. The new movie will scratch that itch.

As an aside, when Affleck's Batman was announced as being TDK Returns in age, we saw people complaining about not seeing his earlier adventures against younger costumed foes. Now with a younger but established Batman, we'll probably see 'oh, we're back at the beginning again' comments. Interesting how that works out.

I understand there's a sense of jadedness about this project from various sources and for various reasons, but I'm here for this movie. If it manages to have the narrative focus of Begins (Bruce being the main character), without the unnatural dialogue, and with gorgeous visuals (which is highly likely), I feel this is going to be something really special. Kravitz wasn't my choice for Selina but fan edits have soothed my concerns. I've pretty much liked everything I've seen so far - ESPECIALLY Glasgow.

Eager to see more photos from filming. 

[Silver Nemesis]

It's rumoured that due to the Covid-19 crisis the remainder of this film will be shot entirely on a closed set, like Batman Returns, and that they're ditching any further location work. This could prove very costly if true.

I liked the look of the locations they were using earlier in the year, so I'm hoping the rest of the shoot will be mostly interiors to complement the exterior footage they've already filmed. This movie seems to be carving out a unique visual identity for itself, and it'd be a shame to compromise that now.

[thecolorsblend]

I've been a proponent of the digital backlot for a Batman movie for a long time now. A pandemic had nothing to do with that, I just thought it was time to update the visual language of Batman and the DB would be a good way to do that.

Maybe in the future?

[The Dark Knight]

This could become a positive, but the point remains: this is a compromise from their original vision. So overall, I find this news disappointing.

[thecolorsblend]

Personality in the locations has been lacking since Begins, so the UK locations are fantastic decision on the part of Reeves. The selection of Wayne Manor is what I'm curious to see as a result.

A moody Gotham By Gaslight but set in the modern day would be most welcome.

I've been re-reading the Batman vampire trilogy lately, and the Gotham in those stories is insanely European.

I don't expect Reeves' Gotham to be anywhere near as extreme as this, but it should have an interesting visual identity to distinguish it from its predecessors.

On a side note, Batman's gauntlets strongly evoke the Court of Owls. Has this Batman already encountered them and tailored his suit accordingly?

I saw this posted on another site.

Some people have complained about the idea of Batman getting his gauntlets from the Court of Owls, but I'm fine with it. The Nolan trilogy showed him adopting the use of ninja bracers following his time with the League of Shadows, and I thought that was a nice addition to the mythology. As long as the explanation for how he gets his gear works in the context of the story they're telling, I'm cool with it.

Apparently some of the casting calls have been asking for extras with circus training, which has led to speculation Haly's Circus might appear. In the New 52 canon, the history of Haly's Circus is connected to that of the Court of Owls. So it sounds like the Talons could make an appearance.

Late to the party here but I've been flipping through the Vampire Trilogy too lately, esp Red Rain. It all ties in with a larger trend I've been going through lately with Dracula-related material.

I can't get enough of the European Gotham that Jones drew in Red Rain. It's kind of off-topic since I'm gushing about the comic book rather than the movie but Red Rain belongs in any Batman fan's collection. It's a crime that Jones hasn't done more Batman stuff over the years... although he's done a lot.

[Silver Nemesis]

Late to the party here but I've been flipping through the Vampire Trilogy too lately, esp Red Rain. It all ties in with a larger trend I've been going through lately with Dracula-related material.

If you haven't already, you should read Bram Stoker's original novel. The second half is interminably paced and bogged down in Victorian sentimentalism, which is why most adaptations condense/skip that portion of the story, but the first half is superb and genuinely unsettling. Scenes which come across as routine in modern vampire tales, like the protagonist noticing the villain casts no reflection, retain an impact in Stoker's novel due to their originality at the time they were written. One of the most horrifying scenes in the book, where Dracula unleashes his wolves on a grief-stricken mother whose infant child he has fed to his brides, is never adapted in any of the screen versions (as far as I'm aware). So it's definitely worth reading the novel for the full story.

Somebody gave me a copy of the 2009 sequel novel by Dacre Stoker when it was first published, but it's been sitting on a shelf unread ever since. Is anyone here familiar with it, and if so is it actually worth reading?

I can't get enough of the European Gotham that Jones drew in Red Rain. It's kind of off-topic since I'm gushing about the comic book rather than the movie but Red Rain belongs in any Batman fan's collection. It's a crime that Jones hasn't done more Batman stuff over the years... although he's done a lot.

Much as I like the vampire trilogy, I didn't actually read it right the way through until I was in my late teens or early twenties. I remember looking through a copy when I was a child and being freaked out by the violence (the scene were Creach bites the face off Cardona's bodyguard was particularly off-putting to my childhood self), so I delayed reading it until I was older. My introduction to Jones' work when I was a kid was through Batman/Dark Joker: The Wild and Contagion. The latter story is particularly relevant right now, and Jones' art remains hauntingly effective.

The European architectural influence on his Gotham is clearly evident in Contagion.

I doubt we'll ever see a Gotham this European on the big screen, but it would be nice to see a similar aesthetic influencing future production designs. I suspect Jones' Gotham was at least partly inspired by Venice. I visited Venice during the summer back in 2010 when it was swelteringly hot, but I gather it has a very different atmosphere in the winter, when the tourists have gone and the temperature drops. Look at how the city was depicted in Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), with its damp decaying brickwork, mist-shrouded canals and rat-infested alleyways.

A little of that Silent Hill ambience wouldn't go amiss in Gotham City.

However, with the possibility of Keaton returning, I feel like the pressure has lessened on Reeves to deliver something like this. I'd be happy if Pattinson's Gotham resembled the one from Batman Begins, then save a full-on Gothic depiction of the city for Keaton's films.

[The Dark Knight]

I think The Batman will bring a level of darkness that will make Nolan look tame. I really do. Recent commentary has been signalling that 'we're not in a competition to be darker than any other interpretation', which suggests to me that Reeves isn't playing around. And that the production is getting ahead of such claims. Some interpreted that differently - suggesting the film could be lighter. But I didn't. I'm imagining a focused type of darkness. An intensity. Bruce and Alfred having a tense, brother like relationship, a murder spree in the background, and a moody environment.

[Azrael]

Much as I like the vampire trilogy, I didn't actually read it right the way through until I was in my late teens or early twenties. I remember looking through a copy when I was a child and being freaked out by the violence (the scene were Creach bites the face off Cardona's bodyguard was particularly off-putting to my childhood self), so I delayed reading it until I was older. My introduction to Jones' work when I was a kid was through Batman/Dark Joker: The Wild and Contagion. The latter story is particularly relevant right now, and Jones' art remains hauntingly effective.

The European architectural influence on his Gotham is clearly evident in Contagion.

I doubt we'll ever see a Gotham this European on the big screen, but it would be nice to see a similar aesthetic influencing future production designs. I suspect Jones' Gotham was at least partly inspired by Venice. I visited Venice during the summer back in 2010 when it was swelteringly hot, but I gather it has a very different atmosphere in the winter, when the tourists have gone and the temperature drops. Look at how the city was depicted in Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), with its damp decaying brickwork, mist-shrouded canals and rat-infested alleyways.

This has always been one of the all-time favourite Batman stories, elseworlds or not, as is Kelley Jones' art. One of the first issues I got (Batman # 516) had art by Jones. His arts look just as good in black & white as they do in colour, like engravings. I agree that Jones' Gotham looks very much European. Yes, Venice must have been an influence (as is to anyone with any interest in art and architecture), plus other European cities, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Berlin. There's something about vampires and characters inspired by them (this includes Batman), visually they look better opposite historical-looking settings, Baroque facades, pointed arches, barrel vaults. I think the designs by Bo Welch and Barbara Ling have a lot of European influence too.

However, with the possibility of Keaton returning, I feel like the pressure has lessened on Reeves to deliver something like this. I'd be happy if Pattinson's Gotham resembled the one from Batman Begins, then save a full-on Gothic depiction of the city for Keaton's films.

The first time I saw this still (and the others that came with it), I immediately thought of Batman Begins.

I think The Batman will bring a level of darkness that will make Nolan look tame. I really do. Recent commentary has been signalling that 'we're not in a competition to be darker than any other interpretation', which suggests to me that Reeves isn't playing around. And that the production is getting ahead of such claims. Some interpreted that differently - suggesting the film could be lighter. But I didn't. I'm imagining a focused type of darkness. An intensity. Bruce and Alfred having a tense, brother like relationship, a murder spree in the background, and a moody environment.

Judging by what is known: official stills, Giacchino's preview, locations, leaked images, the words of the director himself, yes, this promises to be a dark ride.