It would be safe to assume that we won’t be getting a live-action version of Batman any time in the near future that looks to Adam West’s 1960s TV series for inspiration, with the Caped Crusader’s big screen adventures having leaned into darkness ever since Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin caused the original franchise to implode over a quarter of a century ago.
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy was more mature and self-serious than overtly nihilistic when it came to depicting Bruce Wayne’s inner turmoil, while Zack Snyder took things in an even more morose direction, which did admittedly fit Ben Affleck’s portrayal of a world-weary Batman that’s been fighting crime for over two decades and has long since lost all sense of hope and optimism.
We’ve been hearing constant speculation that Matt Reeves’ The Batman is going to be the darkest outing for the comic book icon yet, to the extent that some Warner Bros. executives are reportedly concerned over the reboot’s mainstream appeal. The latest addition to the rumor mill comes from insider Daniel Richtman, who touts that Reeves tried to make sure his stab at the World’s Greatest Detective was darker than Nolan’s trio of modern classics.
That’s as far as the tipster elaborates on the matter, though, so he doesn’t even outline if the director thinks he’s pulled it off, never mind how exactly The Batman is said to plunge even deeper into the depths of despair for Gotham City’s nocturnal vigilante. However, the fact that pretty much all we’ve been hearing about the movie in recent weeks is how dark it’ll be should realistically be a decent indication that Robert Pattinson’s debut under the cape and cowl isn’t going to generate many big laughs.