DC FanDome greatly increased its viewership from the first iteration last year, showing the latest on DC projects ranging from comics, TV, movies, and games. And, as expected, some of the biggest reveals and announcements to come from the virtual event centered on Batman in some way.
Especially so with Matt Reeves' highly-anticipated The Batman once again being the grand finale of FanDome. However, the character has had a variety of directly or indirectly related projects shown off in some capacity that have had Reddit talking when taking into those involving the of the Bat-Family.
A More Pure Form Of Batman: The Animated Series
BTAS and now Caped Crusader and intends for the latter "going back to the drawing board and getting to do all the things he originally wanted," as Redditor denizenKRIM replies.
It's impressive if this animated series proves critically successful, as the '90s show that started it all handled nearly everything it tackled well from the tone to character development. Now that there aren't as many limitations as to what can be done with a Batman cartoon on TV, the team is looking to take things to more gritty levels and reinvent classic characters fans are accustomed to.
Caped Crusader's More Unrefined, Solitary Batman
While BTAS' immediate sequel, The New Batman Adventures, had great episodes showing the Bat-Family, Caped Crusader is poised to show a Dark Knight that is still unproven, unrefined, and more solitary. That's emphasized when Redditor Eagle-Cobra2000 notes "he still needs to earn Gordon's trust"--and doesn't even have all of his key gadgets.
This seemingly mirrors where DC is about to take the superhero theatrically. Matt Reeves' The Batman releases next year under a somewhat similar premise, which makes it encouraging that the director is another one of the producers for Caped Crusader. Its first season will implement these early growing pains for the character, making this an enticing prospect for a new animated Batman show as well as where it will grow afterward.
HBO Max's Batgirl Concept Art & Homage To Comics
After DC Films revealed further back that they are looking to release six movies a year--four theatrical and two streaming--Batgirl was suggested and later confirmed to be one of the projects for HBO Max. Unfortunately for fans, it's too soon for audiences to see anything too tangible on the Batgirl movie considering how early it is in production, with Leslie Grace fairly recently getting cast as Barbara Gordon.
However, the DC FanDome for the movie did show fans some excellent concept art to tease the direction they're aiming for as well as some pieces of information on the character's portrayal. Redditor Jekkelstein describes how it makes "Gotham looks darker," and "looks a lot like the Arkham franchise." The neon color accents and black suit are also noteworthy, and the directing duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah also confirmed that they will pay homage to the comic book counterpart by having Barbara's classic red hair.
The Ominous Teasing Of Riddler In The Batman
With The Batman and second trailer reveal being the showstopper that it was last year, it didn't disappoint in giving fans another enticing look for what's to come next year. Fans saw more of Robert Pattinson's Batman, Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman, and even a first look at Andy Serkis' Alfred Pennyworth. However, one of the most pleasantly ominous glimpses was of Paul Dano's Riddler. He's one of the most exciting things about The Batman trailer despite hardly being shown.
Redditor The Dark Knight.
Better Look At A More Raw Take On Pattinson's Batman
While Matt Reeves seems to have demonstrated his understandings of Batman's core characteristics, the movie could bring fans the most unique rendition of the superhero theatrically and in live-action. Pattinson's Batman is dangerously close to being unhinged compared to other versions of the character. For instance, Christian Bale's Batman is seen from the beginning, and while he does show instances of losing some control, he mostly gives off the aura of a veteran Dark Knight fairly quickly into the trilogy.
Bale's Batman kept his composure most of the time, but these trailers show a new Bruce Wayne that Redditor Batman's best comic book origins show varying degrees of his early inexperience, but The Batman could show this on a much more raw level.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League's Story Trailer Implications
After making themselves known worldwide for their Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Little has been seen or heard since the game's official reveal at last year's DC FanDome event, but the story trailer this year at least gave some intriguing pieces of (potential) lore surrounding the events of this game. The game takes place in the Arkhamverse post-Knight, and the trailer showed some Batman-related shots.
It's implied that the Justice League was formed in this universe with Batman and Redditor RealEdwardNigma thinks "it will be interesting to learn how the Justice League was formed in this universe, seemingly existing during the previous Arkham games." Arkham Knight ends fairly open-ended but suggests Bruce Wayne did survive to become a new incarnation of Batman. These shots from the trailer could hint at an exploration of what's become of the Bat-Family ever since then.
The Batman Behind-The-Scenes Clip
Before the main trailer was shown, a BTS clip for The Batman was played for some more insights into the movie. Reeves, Pattinson, and Kravitz also feature in the brief clip talking about the movie, showing different shots including a journal with different bat symbol designs and hand-written notes can be seen.
Breaking down what the writing says, Redditor Think-Instruction-87 says it's written in the first person by Bruce himself "being introspective on the symbol of the Batman." This is a particularly exciting prospect as it suggests that the rumors of the movie featuring Bruce narrating parts through his journal entries could be true. Being a detective-noir thriller, it makes sense that the audience could hear Batman talk about him as a symbol as well as his own insights on the grisly cases he's handling.
