Matt Reeves’ long-awaited The Batman will finally be available to stream in Australia in December.
Of the DC slate of superheroes, Batman is at the top of the most loved, so to see the caped crusader return is very welcome, with Robert Pattinson no less.
If you’re excited to see Batman take on a Zodiac killer-style Riddler in The Batman, read on.
First, some Batrailers
In The Batman, Pattinson takes on the dual role of Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne.
In October 2021, we got our first real trailer, unveiled during DC Fandom. It gave us more RPatz, who showed us he has the right amount of broodyness to pull off Reeves’ gothic vision:
Everything we had seen from The Batman up until this time had been incredibly dark and over the Christmas break last year, we were given more of the same. Darker even. The trailer teases violence. Did I mention this version of Batman is dark?
Here’s the second trailer that was released for the film:
There’s plenty of Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, plenty of Pattinson’s Batman beating the hell out of people and plenty of Paul Dano’s Riddler implying the Wayne family is responsible for Gotham City’s deepest, darkest secret. We also got a glimpse of the new Batmobile in these trailers, an icon of the Dark Knight.
There’s also this TV spot, which mostly includes footage from the main trailer.
What this gave us was proof that instead of just doing justice to the legacy left behind most recently by Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, Pattinson might just overlap them. He was the right man for bringing Reeves’ vision to life.
Where can I stream The Batman in Australia?
The Batman is streaming on Netflix and Binge in Australia from December 1, 2022.
What to expect from The Batman movie
We’ve obviously seen the movie, but we’re not here to spoil it for you in case you haven’t, that’s why the following is what we knew before we saw it.
Firstly, expect a monster runtime. The Batman movie runs for two hours and 55 minutes, including eight minutes of closing credits. That’s absolutely massive. For comparison, the Justice League went for two hours and 47 minutes.
The Batman is only set a couple of years after Bruce Wayne has started his career as a vigilante, and it seems like he’s yet to find that work/alter-ego life balance that allows him to masquerade as a socialite and throw people off the track of his secret identity.
What’s really intriguing is that The Riddler seems to be positioning himself as an agent of justice by exposing whatever the hell the Wayne family has been keeping hidden — something that Alfred (Andy Serkis) may be well aware of, and has been hiding from Bruce.
We also get a little more context of Colin Farrell’s Penguin and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman. Kravitz gives her a refreshing sense of ease with just the tiniest bit of camp that offsets Pattinson’s brooding anger perfectly. But Farrell, if you didn’t know it was him, you’d be forgiven for not recognising him. His role in this film is guaranteed to impress you. Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright and Paul Dano also make The Batman truly epic.
Is The Batman an original story?
For the most part, The Batman is an original story in this movie. Considering the film’s focus on detective work and following the trail of the mysterious Riddler, it takes some inspiration from The Long Halloween (however this run of comics featured more villains than just The Riddler). In a lot of ways too, it looks at least partly influenced by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, which are often thought of as the best Batman films. If you want a bit of insight into the villains in The Batman movie, we’ve got you covered.
During an interview with Gizmodo Australia, director Matt Reeves told us the final cut of The Batman was the only one, that Warner Bros. was all for the direction he wanted to take the flick.
“There was never a point where they pushed back about any of it. They were very excited about the take, they loved the script, and they supported me and the movie in every way possible,” Reeves told Gizmodo Australia.
“I know that’s not the story you usually hear when you hear about big blockbusters, and you know, studio filmmaking, but it was certainly the case for me that this is a film that they embraced.”
There’s also no secretive R-rated ‘Matt Reeves’ cut of The Batman that many were speculating existed.
“This cut of the movie is the cut. This is the movie as I want the world to see it, there is no other version of it,” Reeves confirmed.
Is The Batman movie linked to the DCEU or its own Batuniverse?
No, The Batman isn’t linked to the DCEU. While the film was originally set to star Ben Affleck, who’d also be the director, The Batman changed shape along the way to be a part of its own universe. That means it’s not a part of the other DCEU films, like Justice League, Man of Steel or The Suicide Squad. This checks out, considering the tone is noticeably different to other DC films, more similar to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, or Joker, which also exists within its own continuity.
This article has been updated since it was first published.
The Batman movie arrived in theatres on March 3, 2022, and will start streaming on Binge and Netflix from December 1, 2022. While you wait, why not check out all the other sci-fi, horror and fantasy films coming our way in 2022.