Perhaps the most anticipated event of the DC FanDome was the reveal of Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Earlier this week, Reeves dropped the logo and some awesome Jim Lee art to build up the hype. But today, all some was unveiled!

The panel started with a very soft-spoken Robert Pattinson who spoke about having to shut down production on The Batman due to COVID, and how much he’s looking forward to resuming production. He then kicked it off to the director, Matt Reeves who spoke with moderator Aisha Tyler.

Reeves spoke about how exciting it was to do a movie that didn’t explore Batman’s origins, but rather his early days (year two of him being Batman) — how Batman is charting crime in Gotham and learning to be a crime-fighter. He spoke about his admiration for how Batman is a human and not from mythical or mystical origins. Reeves emphasized this will definitely be rooted in mystery and a detective story.

He confirmed Paul Dano is playing the Riddler, Andy Serkis will be playing Alfred, Jeffrey Wright is Jim Gordon, and Zoe Kravitz is playing Catwoman. Reeves stated his approach will be to square what we know about these characters with something new, with each actor bringing to life versions of the characters we’ve never seen before, but with tones of familiarity.

Reeves also confirmed he’s working with Terrence Winter on the HBO Max TV series set within Gotham. The show will dive into Batman: Year One territory to explore the origins of the corruption of his version of Gotham through the POV of the Gotham PD.

On working with the actors, Reeves also spoke about how Pattinson consulted Christian Bale about how to approach the role, and the advice Bale gave him was to make sure the suit will allow him to use the bathroom. He was asked how the Gotham public will view the Batman in the narrative of the film, to which he replied that they will be afraid of him. On Pattinson as an actor, Reeves praised all the work he has done in the past six years, particularly Lost City of Z and Good Time. He connected with Pattinson over their love for Batman, citing that he has the soul of the Dark Knight.

In reference to crafting the Batcave, the Batmobile, and the Batsuit, he would work with a production designer while he was writing. And that the main difference between this iteration of Batman and others are that the other stories are about Batman mastering his fear, but he’s not doing this. He’s going to explore Batman mid-way through his mission against crime. He’s going to have the audience meet a Batman that makes mistakes, fails, is heroic, persists, and all in a way that shows he’s human, and allows the audience to feel empathy for him and feel what he feels. He’s also going to emphasize the detective aspect of the character, especially since the film is heavily inspired by movies like Chinatown and The French Connection. He also mentioned how passionate he is about being part of the Batman legacy, with admiration for all previous iterations of Batman from West to Affleck.

Then came the real reward for the fans: Matt Reeves broke the first trailer for The Batman! Here it is!