A few days ago Reddit user SpideyForever245 stated that the Batman played by Robert Pattinson in The Batman is going to adhere to Bruce Wayne’s fundamental rule that has not always been respected in film adaptations: Do not kill. This is what distinguishes this antihero from character like Frank Castle or Moon Knight. Whatever happens, Batman decides that the villains he detains must not be killed by him or there would be nothing to distinguish him from them. It is something that has been reproached in movies like Batman: Under the Red Hood – 100%.
Subscribe here to Disney Plus
That said, not killing does not mean that the character is free from brutality. In the first trailer of this new movie we saw him beat an ordinary criminal in a very intense way and tell him that he is the “Revenge”. It is clear that this is going to be a darker version of the character and his villains. An indication of that is the fact that Riddler here is going to be a serial killer with various similarities to the Zodiac.
The influencer and informant Daniel Richtman He has said that we are indeed going to see a particularly violent and brutal version of the character, but he emphasized that, as already said, the character is not going to kill. This information appears to be complementary to what the aforementioned Reddit user said. This is probably what Pattinson was referring to when he said a while ago that the character is not a hero:
Batman is not a hero. He is a complicated character. I don’t think I can ever play a true hero, there must always be something wrong. I think it’s because one of my eyes is smaller than the other. […] His morality is a bit off putting. He is not a golden boy, unlike almost any other cartoon character. There is a simplicity to his worldview, but it is strange, allowing him to have more scope with the character.
Many took it as a sign that the actor was not understanding the character, but perhaps he was referring to the fact that his version in particular is going to be more brutal and less worthy of being considered an antihero. It is very likely that the film will explore the ethical dilemma involved in being this brutal with criminals, but without killing them. These are ideas that do not seem really compatible and that can generate an interesting discussion about what Batman really is in that context.
This information also makes sense in light of what the informant had recently said. Grace randolph. She said that at Warner they may be concerned that the film will not be very attractive to audiences because of how dark it is:
I haven’t heard anything about Warner executives having a problem with The Batman. What I DO hear from several people is that the tape is EXTREMELY dark, and there is SOME concern about its commercial appeal, but Joker made over a billion dollars. Hopefully WB stands firm this time.
If the movie is as brutal and violent as has been claimed, and the studio is really afraid that it will be too dark for audiences, this could end very badly. We know that the studio has a habit of intervening in films if they feel that they are not going to work as they would like. If this is the case, the worst possible scenario would be that they end up delivering a completely different movie than the one Matt Reeves wants to deliver to us. With all the luck in the world in a few years we could see the Reeves Cut, which would most likely be the best version of the film.