Writer/director Matt Reeves explains how The Batman’s Bruce Wayne compares to James Bond and how he inspired the grounded nature of the story.
Writer/director Matt Reeves explains how The Batman‘s Bruce Wayne compares to James Bond and how he inspired the grounded nature of the story. Reeves took over the helming position from Ben Affleck after the former DC Extended Universe star stepped down from the solo film due to personal health concerns from the role. The Planet of the Apes reboot filmmaker was going to direct Affleck, but shifted gears to starting from scratch with a younger star in an effort to build a new franchise.
Reeves is taking inspiration from Year One, The Long Halloween, Ego and Zero Year for The Batman as the film shifts the focus to the Dark Knight’s second year of fighting crime as he uncovers a web of corruption in Gotham City with connections to his family while also pursuing the cryptic serial killer known as The Riddler. Robert Pattinson is leading the star-studded ensemble as Bruce Wayne/Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as GCPD Lieutenant Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot before he becomes the Penguin. Following multiple delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Batman is gearing up to hit theaters this March.
In anticipation of the film’s release, Matt Reeves sat down with MovieMaker for an in-depth discussion on The Batman. While talking about the development of the film, Reeves opened up about comparison between his Bruce Wayne and James Bond, tying together their range of exciting gadgets and the pain they’ve gone through in their lives, citing the latter point as what he used to ground his story. See what Reeves said below:
“Batman is an amazing myth that has endured for over 80 years. And it’s because of that crazy mix. There’s a part of it that is just simply cool, right? He looks cool. He’s got a cool car. He’s got all the stuff. He’s like James Bond, I guess, in a certain way, right? But there’s also something very relatable to the pain that he’s gone through. And so that, for me, was how you ground it — those aspects are part of the story. And this story emphasizes those things. This story pulls those things out. So that’s why I was so excited about Robert Pattinson because he’s such a wonderful actor. And I knew that he would be able to go on that search with me for the depth and complexity of this character. I mean, I knew he wasn’t going to play him straight ahead.”
Though the majority of the character’s on-screen tenure didn’t explore the element, Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond did see a more emotionally vulnerable take on Ian Fleming’s iconic super spy. Craig’s movies also properly touched upon his history as an orphan following the death of his parents at a young age and how this would eventually put him on the path to joining MI6 and becoming the legendary 007. Between his dark past and the amount of loss he suffered throughout his five films, namely that of Vesper in Casino Royale, Craig’s James Bond became celebrated in part for the pain he endures and development stemming from that.
Reeves’ comparison of The Batman‘s Bruce Wayne to James Bond is an effective one for establishing the tone and mindset of Robert Pattinson’s character in the film. The Dark Knight is well-known for his origin stemming from the murder of his parents, and with the plot seemingly tying Bruce’s family to the web of corruption occurring in Gotham City, it will be interesting to see how that affects the character’s development in both the film and its potential sequels. Only time will tell when The Batman hit theaters on March 4.
More: What Is Alfred’s Lie To Bruce Wayne In The Batman – Every Theory
Source: MovieMaker
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About The Author
Grant Hermanns (1167 Articles Published)
Grant Hermanns is a News Writer for Screen Rant, having just recently joined the team. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. From there he joined the staff at ComingSoon.net and was its Associate Editor prior to coming over to Screen Rant. To say he’s a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he’s not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog.