Following last week's internet shattering
Batsuit reveal,
The Batman director Matt Reeves understandably decided to take things a little slower on Bruce Wayne's birthday, and instead of sharing any new content from his upcoming film, he shared a relatively simple panel from an early page in Frank Miller and David Mazzuchhelli's acclaimed
Batman: Year One graphic novel.
Now, while his post may have nothing to do with the film he's currently busy shooting, there is a chance that this is our first indicator that
The Batman will indeed draw some inspiration from
Year One, at least early on. This is something that's been
rumored about the film since the earliest days of Reeves beginning to work on the screenplay. However, he was quick to
deny those rumors back in August 2018.
More recently, there were reports that the film would center around "
Year Two" of Wayne's career as the Caped Crusader, which could more or less be considered the same thing since it would still mean the film would be based on his earliest days as a crime fighter.
The panel in question appears on Page 10 of the graphic novel and depicts Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham after years of training abroad and heading out on a recon mission in the East End, one of the worst parts of the city. He has yet to adopt his Dark Knight alter ego at this point, so we see him do his best to get acclimated to an unfamiliar environment.
Some of the early set photos that were
released could coorborate the
Year One theories, as they appear to show Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne returning to the city after what's assumed to have been a long hiatus. More
recent photos even showed one of his stunt doubles getting roughed up by some colorful villains.
It should also be noted that last week's Batsuit reveal featured a prominent red tint, which is (coincidentally?) the same color as the
Batman: Year One standard edition and deluxe edition graphic novels.
More concrete plot details are being kept locked away at Arkham Asylum for now, but along with possibly borrowing elements from
Year One, the film is also said to be a loose adaptation of
The Long Halloween.
Robert Pattinson (
The Lighthouse) will star as the titular Dark Knight with an all-star supporting cast that will feature Golden Globe-winner Jeffrey Wright (
Westworld) as Commissioner James Gordon, Zoë Kravitz (
Big Little Lies) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Golden Globe-nominee Paul Dano (
There Will Be Blood) as Edward Nashton/The Riddler, Golden Globe-nominee Andy Serkis (
Black Panther) as Alfred Pennyworth, Golden Globe-winner Colin Farrell (
The Gentleman) as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, newcomer Jayme Lawson as Bella Reál, 2x Golden Globe-nominee John Turturro (
The Night Of) as Carmine Falcone and Golden Globe-nominee Peter Sarsgaard (
Green Lantern) as Gil Colson.
Reeves (
War for the Planet of the Apes) is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mattson Tomlin (
Little Fish). Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Greig Fraser will be behind the camera.
The Batman hits theaters June 25, 2021.
The Batman - Camera Test from Matt Reeves on Vimeo.