The Batman is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Produced by DC Films and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of the Batman film franchise. The film is directed by Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig. It stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Barry Keoghan, Jayme Lawson, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell rounding out the ensemble cast. The Batman is set during Batman’s second year of fighting crime and follows him as he explores Gotham City’s corruption and faces the Riddler, a riddle-obsessed serial killer.
A standalone Batman film after the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) was announced in October 2014, with Ben Affleck set to direct, write, produce, and star. Affleck stepped down as writer and director in January 2017 after struggling with the script and to focus on playing the character. Reeves joined to direct and write a new script the next month, reworking the story to focus on a younger Batman to emphasize the character’s detective aspects more than prior films. Affleck left the project in January 2019, and Pattinson was cast in the title role that May. The film’s connections to the DCEU were subsequently eliminated. Principal photography began in London, England in January 2020, and moved to Liverpool before it was suspended that March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed that September, during which Pattinson recovered from COVID-19, with filming occurring in England and Chicago, and is expected to conclude in February 2021.
The Batman is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 4, 2022. Its release was delayed twice from an initial June 2021 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two sequels are planned, while a spin-off prequel television series is in development for HBO Max.