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The Legacy Of Batman- The DCEU And The Batman
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Mar 31, 2025
In our final episode of The Legacy of Batman, we take a look at Ben Affleck's Batman effect on the DCEU through Robert Pattinson's gritty portrayal of The Dark Knight. A new wave of DC Heroes have been hitting our screens, but no other has taken the risk of Matt Reeve's The Batman. From the early aughts through present day, Batman will forever be one of the greatest superheroes ever put to page or film.
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Here we are, episode 3 of our epic Batman series
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We've been chronicling just about every version of Batman. However, today we're finally going to be answering the question
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How did we get here? After the smash success of the Dark Knight trilogy
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Warner Brothers had a simple request of Christopher Nolan, help us launch an interconnected superhero universe on the big screen
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Early rumors included taking Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake from The Dark Knight Rises
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and spinning him off into his own franchise. What did materialize, however, was a Superman movie titled Man of Steel
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produced by Nolan, directed by Zack Snyder, and written by David Goyer
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This film jump-started what Warner Brothers would dub the DC Extended Universe
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They set out with the idea to create an interconnected tableau of superhero franchises
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constructed with the direct purpose of competing with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some fans were initially displeased with a darker and more brooding Superman
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portrayed by Henry Cavill. Man of Steel missed the core of what made Superman work as a character
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What's the S stand for? It's not an S. After pulling in close to $670 million worldwide
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the 2013 debut of the DCEU was off to a middling start
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Warners wanted the film to pull in a billion dollars, the same number that Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises had generated
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So they opted to not pursue a direct sequel to the film and instead decided to give Snyder and company the keys to the kingdom
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They were instructed to pull out all the big guns, thinking Batman was the key to success
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Warners instructed Snyder to make his version of the long-gestating Batman vs. Superman project
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Did you get Batman Arkham City yet? Freaking Batman's my ride? Bat-kin saves the city
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Back on the small screen, Gotham, originally thought to be an adaptation of the beloved crime series Gotham Central, debuted on Fox
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After an initially rocky reception, it developed a stalwart fan base, lasting 100 episodes
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The show set its sights on chronicling a young Jim Gordon's struggles against the flamboyant underworld of Gotham
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The series reached a younger demographic than traditional live-action Batman projects, but left the hardcore fan base split
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half not liking the tone of the show, half loving the darkly camp aesthetic
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Ultimately, it ended its run after five seasons due to ratings. Its place in Batman canon still seems to be up in the air
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I love it, yeah! I'm gonna put it in my bathroom. During this time, a lawsuit was brought against DC by the heirs of Bill Finger
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Bob Kane's long underrepresented co-creator who had been relegated to the role of Ghostwriter
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Thanks to the efforts of journalist Mark Nobleman, the granddaughter of Batman co-creator Athena Finger was found and brought forth a case against DC
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After a protracted legal battle, she succeeded in gaining a credit title card for her grandfather
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on all Batman projects going forward. Our goal was to get Bill's name attached
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That's what we did. In cinemas, the first theatrical film that would bear the title card
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Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, was Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice
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It had the unenviable task of attempting to redefine Batman so soon after the release
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of arguably the most important modern version of the character, portrayed by Christian Bale
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Written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer, BVS would draw inspiration from Frank Miller's iconic The Dark Knight Returns
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It would feature an aging Bruce, who is distressful of this godlike new alien being Superman
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Ben Affleck, riding high off of his Oscar win for Best Directing of the film Argo
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and his career resurgence thanks to a string of self-produced gritty crime films
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would be offered the role of Batman. Initially, the fan backlash was venomous and intense
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The fans did not like the idea of Affleck as Bruce. There was a common notion that this was the Geely guy He not Batman My life sucks Despite Affleck putting in the hard work to rebuild his reputation there were large swaths of the movie public who viewed him as wooden and more famous for dating Jennifer
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Lopez than for being a movie star. And yet, when the film was released, everyone largely
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came around. Thanks to the brutalist action set pieces, hulking physique, and brooding
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attitude that Affleck brought to the character, it was instantly apparent that he was invested
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in this depiction of the Dark Knight, and fans took notice. This is about the future of the world. It's my legacy
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The dark and gritty tone of Batman v Superman was something that was a big component of the marketing in the lead-up to the film
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Warners and Snyder were trying to draw a distinction between the DC product and the Marvel product
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They were attempting to position it as for older fans, more adult, more mature, and Affleck was an extension of that, literally playing a Bruce Wayne with gray hair
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Pulling in close to $880 million at the box office, BVS was a commercial hit, but critics lambasted the movie
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They lampooned its overly serious and drab aesthetic with its oftentimes silly and nonsensical plot
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The primary complaint with the film was that Snyder was a director concerned with making moments and not telling a cohesive and continuing story
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Ow! Wow, that is a good grip. You should not pick a fight with this person
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Meanwhile, in the comics, critical darling Tom King took over the writing duties on Batman
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He transformed the book into an ongoing romance between Batman and Catwoman
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which appeared to be climaxing with them getting married. The book during this time was treated as a secret stealth diary for King
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His marital issues, familial frictions, and interpersonal grievances were all transposed to the Batman world
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This was a stark departure from the Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo run, which focused more on the interplay between the Bat Family, the Rogue's Gallery, and Gotham's Elite
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Much of King's experience as a real-world spy, serving in Afghanistan, went into his run
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The book won critical praise and racked up sales records, shipping twice monthly for the majority of his run
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The focus on the romance between Batman and Catwoman would have fans calling for a new interpretation of their relationship to hit the big screen
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And then DC cut the run short, shuffling King off the title due to behind-the-scenes drama
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Time for justice. Say cheese. Gotham is being restored. Back in Hollywoodland, film fanatics were responding well to Affleck's Batman
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but the fallout of the film was seen as something of a misstep by Warner's execs
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However, they were slightly behind the eight ball. Under normal circumstances, they would have changed directors for the next DCEU project
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but that wasn't an option. The train had left the station. They were rushing to keep up with the MCU
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Justice League was preparing to shoot. This project was originally intended to be a two-film epic
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that would lead to jump-starting multiple solo franchises for the beloved superheroes that Warner's controlled
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However, due to a rushed timeline, Snyder was already working on Justice League and planned on shooting within months of BBS's release
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Warners mitigated the situation by giving Snyder the go-ahead to direct Justice League, despite their misgivings
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but pivoted the plan from being two films into just one. But Justice League wasn't the only film Warners was prepping
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I finally have one. The worst of the worst. The next film to feature the world's greatest detective would be David Ayer's 2016 Suicide Squad
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A film plagued by reshoots, a major post-production overhaul to make it feel more like the smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy, and massive rewrites
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Despite a cameo from Batman, the finished film is a jerky mishmash of tones, styles, and aesthetics
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It failed at the box office, which is not surprising at all. We're bad guys. It's what we do
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Back on the printed page, DC Comics was taking some experimental steps forward
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They began publishing a series of graphic novels, not serialized single issues, called The Earth One Project
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Illustrator Gary Frank and writer Jeff Johns took on a new gritty, down-and-dirty retelling of Batman's early days, origins, and life as a crime fighter
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Lasting three volumes, the project became a bestseller and caused DC to investigate the possibility of doing more straight-to-graphic novel projects
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How many of you are there Not enough Justice League was released in 2017 This project had been quietly churning in the background since the early 2000s
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when Mad Max director George Miller was going to shoot Justice League Mortal, which featured a cast that included Armie Hammer as Batman
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Common as Green Lantern, and Adam Brody as The Flash. Due to the fact that Snyder's version of the story was intended to launch multiple franchises
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the pressure to get it right was high. After the continued success of the MCU and the growing negative opinion of BVS
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Warner's execs expressed a severe lack of confidence in Snyder's abilities to launch the flagship project for the DCEU
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His first cut of Justice League was met with consternation and panic at the studio
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Due to the horrific tragedy of Zack Snyder's daughter taking her own life, he stepped down from the project
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WB execs used this as an opportunity to retool the project. They brought in Joss Whedon to re-sculpt the film in post
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This eventually ended up evolving into Whedon taking over the director's chair for close to $60 million worth of reshoots, re-edits, and rewrites
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The tone of the project was shifted dramatically, and multiple actors have since claimed to have had negative working experiences with Whedon
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The most bizarre shift in this version of the story is Batman's characterization. Gone was the brooding Dark Knight Returns-inspired older Batman, and here was a rather stiltedly comedic Batman who says things like
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Oh, yeah. Something is definitely bleeding. Surprising no one, this last-minute Hail Mary did not work, and the film made what Warner's viewed as a disappointing $657 million, off of a budget of around $300 billion
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But this wasn't even the worst part of it. It also turned all of the characters into laughingstocks and the butt of everyone's jokes
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The worst-case scenario had happened. The plan that Warner Bros. had been barreling towards since the conclusion of the Dark Knight trilogy had not worked
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So, what was next? Refresh and reevaluate? Reconfigure the goals of the DCEU going forward
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Yes, but also stick with what's working. Ben Affleck as Batman. Despite the films he was in underperforming from a studio perspective
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Ben Affleck was a fan favorite, and he had the studio's backing. They petitioned him to write, direct, and star in a solo Batman film, to which he said yes
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I keep on getting like, where's the f***ing Batman? Well, I'm working
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Give me a second. Not being a massive Batman fan himself, Affleck was paired with DC bigwig Jeff Johns as a co-writer
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They quickly got to work on a new take on Batman, one that would wipe the slate clean and create a new lane for the caped crusader
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This film would be called The Batman. It would see Bruce going up against longtime DC baddie Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke
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The cast and crew for the unmade Batfilm have repeatedly said that it would have been a thriller in the style of David Fincher's The Game
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with Deathstroke dismantling Bruce's family, killing people close to him, and torturing him on a psychological level
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The film was purportedly going to feature a noir tone with themes of identity, generational drama
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and the nature of the criminal mind being explored. However, after working on the script with Johns for close to two years
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Affleck eventually decided to back off the idea of directing and just star in the film
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His reasons for this seemed to be a mixture of personality conflicts with the studio and his trepidation stemming from the negative experience of Justice League
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Director Matt Reeves was brought in to helm the project, and Affleck decided to bow out entirely
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Many fans have said that he deserved better treatment from DC, and that his iteration of Batman is their favorite
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Despite Warner's wanting him back, Affleck's recent turbulent personal issues and a desire to do something different
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seemed to suggest to him that he should move on. You know you can't do this forever. I can barely do it now
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DC Comics decided to hand the keys to their flagship title, Batman, to superstar writer James Tiny on the 4th at this juncture
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His approach to the character was to simultaneously play into the horror aspects of Gotham, as
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seen in his Fear State crossover, and create a throwback to the 1990s influx of new characters
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Tiny On worked to create new narrative real estate by co-creating a raft of new heroes
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and villains to populate Gotham. Punchline Ghostmaker and Clown Hunter were just some of the standouts from his time on the title In 2019 writer and director Todd Phillips known for making raunchy comedies like the Hangover films took his turn at creating an origin story for the iconic Batman villain the Joker
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My life is nothing but a comedy. Deeply influenced by the films of Martin Scorsese
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Taxi Driver and King of Comedy specifically, the film tells a new take on one of the most feared villains in all of genre fiction
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Post-Hangover, Phillips was interested in being taken as a serious director. His film War Dogs was another deeply Scorsesean effort, but didn't land as well critically or financially
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It's obvious that the director wanted to shift the public perception of his abilities, while using the canvas of the day, superheroes, for financial backing
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In many ways, this film seemed to want to bring up the weightier political themes that Nolan and Scorsese films typically deal with
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but the general perception is that it didn't have the nuance or subtlety to really be able to navigate the complexities of the various topics it raised
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Aside from the mesmerizing performance by Joaquin Phoenix, the film is generally viewed as a bizarre photocopy of Taxi Driver
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But in the end, those shortcomings didn't impact the film's reception. If it weren't for you meddling kids, oh, that's some good stuff
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Gillette will travel across the galaxy. Matt Reeves set about reconfiguring the project currently titled The Batman
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How could he take the best from all the previous iterations of the character and say something original with it
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Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig decided to draw on the Todd McFarlane-illustrated
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Batman Year 2, Earth 1, Long Halloween, and Darwin Cook's Ego in order to expand the idea of
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showcasing a version of Batman that felt familiar but hadn't been translated to the big screen
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previously. They wanted to explore the world's greatest detective version of the character
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thoroughly. They wanted to construct a literal mystery, a gritty, lived-in world that would
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feature a fresh Batman going up against a serial killer that was inspired by real-world killers
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like the Zodiac and the BTK killer. Reeves and Craig wanted to depict Batman as both a real man
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and a demonic creature. This can be seen in the way they develop the story's structure
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For the majority of the running time, Bruce is in full costume as Batman, and when he's Bruce, he's shy
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almost literally a vampire. This incarnation places much more primacy on Batman
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That's the true persona. Bruce Wayne is an inconvenience. Reeves and Craig had planned on approaching Robert Pattinson
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for the role from the start, tailoring the specifics of their interpretation of Bruce
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to Pattinson's persona. When Pattinson was cast in the Christopher Nolan would-be epic tenet
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the duo steering the ship thought their chances were dashed. However, Pattinson expressed interest in the role at a general meeting with Craig
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and was flown out to L.A. to shoot a screen test while filming Tenet. The final two actors being considered for the part were Pattinson and Nicholas Holt
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and we all know who got the part. Who are you over there? What are you hiding
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In many ways, Reeves' The Batman is a greatest hit of the character's 80-year highs
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He's got elements of him pulled from the Arkham games, the animated series, the Snyder and Capullo comics, the Morrison runs
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and even the classic Neil Adams and Denny O'Neill runs. He's gothic and dark in the way that Burton positioned him
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He lives in a Gotham that feels unstuck from time while still being gritty and realistic
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like Nolan established. Reeves created a more grounded version of the Fritz Lang and Robert Wine influence
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that Burton introduced. The film boiled down all of the best parts of Batman
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and put them on the screen for us to enjoy. If anything, the only real detraction
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from this film's quality is that it was just released so quickly after all the other Batman stuff
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we've been discussing in this video series. The Dark Knight Rises came out 10 years ago
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In that time, there have been five feature films that have featured Batman or Batman characters
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34 animated films, eight high-profile AAA video games, and two live-action TV shows
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That's a lot of Batman and Batman-related media. From pulp-inspired Avenger to a campy comedic smash hit
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to brooding billionaire vigilante, we've seen the turns and twists of the film franchise
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the waxing and waning of the comic books, and how the cultural impact of Batman has rippled throughout our America for decades
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And now that you've seen all the twists and turns of the Batman franchise, you'll have all of the answers next time someone asks
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How did we get here
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