DC, Batman, Pattinson: Weekly Round Up

24th August 2020

DC, Batman, Pattinson: Weekly Round Up – Okay, folks. I suppose we can’t really avoid it at this point, can we? Let’s talk all things DC.

As many of you may already know, the DC and Warner Brother’s FanDome event took place this weekend. This is a brand-new event, which was held as virtual convention, and feature a wealth of announcements surrounding the the slate of DC/Warners output. This didn’t just include movies – although of course that’s what we’ll be focusing on today – but also video games and TV shows.

There were DC panels centres around many of the films, featuring the cast and crew, and there was even some footage dropped during the event, which has sent the internet into something of a frenzy. Could it be that, given their side-lining of the Extended Universe project (which, let’s be honest, was solely a corporate attempt to compete with Marvel’s Cinematic Universe), that DC’s new direction could see them overtake their main competitors to lead the battle of the comic book movie studios?

Wherever you sit on that fence will likely depend on how involved you are in all of this, but it certainly seems that their focus on more standalone, creative led projects, as well as the surprise announcement from a few weeks back that we will be seeing the fabled Snyder Cut of Justice League, has kicked things into a higher gear. And, after all, let us not forget that as it currently stands, Marvel have reached something of a point of closure for many fans, with Endgame rounding off a decade-spanning story arc, and with no real sense of urgency or clear path in terms of plot moving forward, it does seem highly likely that there are plenty of people out there who are now more open and willing to give something a little bit different a chance.

To begin with, we need to talk about Batman.

“Which one?” I hear you cry. And, that’s right, that’s a distinction that needs to be made now. Shortly before the event began, we learned that Ben Affleck, who played Batman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, will be donning the cape and cowl once again to appear in the standalone movie for Ezra Miller’s The Flash. But, of course, this isn’t the only announcement surrounding an actor who had previously played the Caped Crusader returning to the role.

Not too long ago we started hearing rumours that Michael Keaton, who last played the character in Tim Burton’s 1992 sequel, Batman Returns, would also be putting on his utility belt for a reappearance in The Flash. Since then, director Andy Muschietti has confirmed this to be the case, and at the FanDome event this weekend we got an exclusive look at some very cool looking concept art featuring Keaton’s Dark Knight alongside Miller’s Flash.

Two Batmen for the price of none it would seem is the order of the day over at The Flash, but of course Affleck and Keaton aren’t the only two actors who will be taking on the Batman mantle.

Matt Reeves’ standalone movie, The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the titular hero, Colin Farrel as The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright and Commissioner Gordon, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and Paul Dano as The Riddler has long been a film of much intrigue to me. I mean, just look at that cast list! But we finally got our first proper look at the movie this weekend with the release of the first trailer, and, guys… it looks off the chain!

Other being absolutely awesome in every single way, one thing the trailer does highlight is the Detective thriller vibe that Reeves has often spoken about hoping to reinsert into the character. I don’t know about the rest of you, but on the basis of this trailer, alongside the cast, The Batman has quickly become my most eagerly anticipated big budget studio movie.

There were other trailers dropping over the weekend as well. We got an extended look at the much-anticipated Wonder Woman 1984, which sees Gal Gadot and Chris Pine returning to their roles from the first movie. This trailer gives us a good look at Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah (I’m very curious how Cats director Tom Hooper feels watching this) as well as Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord, and seems to hint at the possible reasoning behind both the return of Pine’s character – who died at the end of the first movie – and the relationship between Gadot’s Princess Diana and Wiig’s Ann Minerva.

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad also made an appearance (although much like Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming Black Adam didn’t come with an actual trailer) with a behind the scene peak at the making of the film, as well as a clearer idea of who the actual line-up will include. I will admit the idea of a “gritty 70s war movie” through the James Gunn lens is rather tantalizing.

The things I’m sure most people were excited about though was getting a glimpse at the fabled Snyder Cut of Justice League. This thing has been so talked about and had such a troubled history at this point that its existence is beyond legendary. Well, we did get a look at the trailer, and it’s interesting, with the use of Leonard Coen’s Hallelujah acting as both a sort of odd reminder of how bizarre it is that this is actually happening, and also signalling that we’re very much back in Snyder territory with this one.

The trailer, though, doesn’t give us a whole lot to look at that we haven’t already seen previously, and the bits it does are fleeting. The more interesting announcement instead came from Snyder during the panel after the trailer dropped, where he revealed firstly that his cut of Justice League is coming in at FOUR HOURS long, and will be split into four one-hour long episodes, and that he and Warner’s are currently working on securing distribution outside of America.

I guess the question is, how do you feel about four hours of Justice League? I’ll be honest, I’m all for it, even if it does turn out to be a load of rubbish. I mean, at this point, I just wanna see the damn thing. – DC, Batman, Pattinson: Weekly Round Up

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