Matt Reeves Teases Robert Pattinson as ‘The Batman’

It’s that time of year again where I become irrationally excited for a Batman movie. Last night on twitter, director Matt Reeves sent out a link to camera test footage for his new movie and lit the entire internet on fire.

In addition to a first look at Robert Pattinson in the Bat cowl, the footage also teased the first strands of Michael Giacchino’s Batman theme.

I gotta say, I’m loving this trend of using camera tests to tease your movie. This is the third DC film in a row to employ the tactic and I’ve fallen for them each time. In September 2018, Todd Phillips kicked off the trend with this haunting footage of future Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix morphing from Arthur Fleck into the Joker. And while I ultimately didn’t end up loving the film, this teaser was the first time I considered giving the movie a shot.

Then, in January of last year, Cathy Yan’s costume test footage became the initial teaser for Birds of Prey. Though it was only 20 seconds long, I proclaimed at the time that Birds of Prey would be the best DC movie of all time. And you know what? I was right!

And now, it’s time for Matt Reeves to show off his take on the Dark Knight Detective. My first impression is overall a positive one, though I want to reserve judgement until I see more. That said, I love the handmade feel of the cowl and how much it shows off Pattinson’s jawline (a first in Batsuit history, I believe). I think the collar is interesting, but I’m not thrilled with the return to an armored Batsuit. Say what you will about the Snyder movies, but Affleck’s initial Batsuit is still my favorite live action aesthetic.

And while everyone on twitter had Daredevil jokes, it’s only because Reeves shot the footage using a red filter. Subsequent color corrections by fans have shown that this is a pretty faithful take on Batman. And if you were wondering about the red, rumors have suggested that Reeves’ movie is inspired by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s “The Long Halloween” and “Dark Victory” storylines. Well…