Robert Pattinson reveals how Gotham City's residents feel about Bruce Wayne's alter ego in The Batman. One of DC's most iconic characters gets another big screen adaptation with next month's The Batman, a gritty take directed by War for the Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves. In setting the film outside of the DCEU, Reeves has opened up the door to create a version of Bruce Wayne few people have seen before. Pattinson slips on the Batsuit for the titular role in The Batman, and though there was some backlash when he was initially cast, the movie has become one of the most anticipated of 2022.
When The Batman picks up, Bruce has only entered his second year as the vigilante. Gotham is perhaps more in need of a hero than ever before, particularly when a masked killer begins targeting members of the city's elite. Said killer is the Riddler (Paul Dano), who, like most of the DC characters populating The Batman, has received a bit of an update. The Batman's Gotham also features other familiar figures, like the Penguin (Colin Farrell) and Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz).
The Gotham seen in the film is a city constantly being confronted with the worst parts of itself, meaning its citizens are incredibly disillusioned. As a result, they have yet to see the Batman as a hero. Pattinson laid out how Gotham views Batman in a new profile with GQ, even highlighting a specific moment where people are unable to differentiate between friend or foe in his actions. He said:
“But this thing he’s doing, it’s not even working. Like, it’s two years into it, and the crime has gotten worse since Bruce started being Batman. The people of Gotham think that he’s just another symptom of how shit everything is. There’s this scene where he’s beating everyone up on this train platform, and I just love that there’s a bit in the script where the guy he’s saving is also just like: Ahh! It’s worse! You’re either being mugged by some gang members, or a monster comes and, like, fucking beats everybody up! The guy has no idea that Batman’s come to save him. It just looks like this werewolf.”
A Gotham that isn't very fond of Batman isn't a new concept, but the nugget about the city's citizens actively being afraid of him has some really interesting implications. To the bystanders in The Batman, Bruce's alter ego is just another thug lying in wait. It still hasn't sunk in that he is trying to provide some kind of cure for Gotham's ills. Whether that realization will come about by the time The Batman rolls its credits remains to be seen, but this misunderstanding could lead to some unforeseen obstacles in Bruce's journey.
Though nothing has been officially announced, The Batman is being positioned as the first movie in a new DC franchise. There are some television spinoffs already in the works centered on the Penguin and Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), and Pattinson and Reeves have both signaled they've looked ahead toward The Batman 2. Should they get the chance to make a sequel (which seems highly likely), future installments can deepen Bruce's relationship with Gotham City, especially once those that live there realize he's actually trying to do some good.
Source: GQ
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