We’ve seen a lot of actors play Batman over the years, and everyone puts their own twist on the guy. From Adam West’s campy crimefighter to Christian Bale’s grounded vigilante, no two Batmen are quite alike.
The latest man to step into the cowl is Twilight star Robert Pattison, who will star in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. But what kind of Batman are we getting this time? Peter Sarsgaard, who will be playing Gotham District Attorney Gil Colso, had a few things to say about it when he appeared on SiriusXM Radio. But before we dive into that, fans have been curious about Sarsgaard’s character, especially because he’s not in the comics.
Could he potentially be Two-Face, a Gotham district attorney turned supervillain? Because that would be awesome. Sure, the character’s name isn’t Harvey Dent, but that could just be a cover.
Anyway, Sarsgaard couldn’t say much about the movie, but does hint that it could be the type of Batman story we’ve all been waiting for:
"That’s what I feel like about this. It is not sanitized. It’s got a raw power to it, a raw emotionality."
I want to see this version of the character because that’s how we know him in the comics. He’s not a happy-go-lucky guy, or even a semi-optimistic one; he does a lot of brooding, ever-mindful of his mission to make Gotham safe so what happened to his parents will never happen to anyone else. This is what we’ve been waiting for, and I hope Pattison truly brings the “raw” factor Sarsgaard is talking about.
Pattinson play a brooding vampire in the Twilight saga, after all, so we know he’s capable of bringing those “blech” emotions. Time will tell how successful he ends up being, but I’m certainly rooting for him.
And the cast is tremendous. In addition to Pattinson and Sarsgaard, we’ve got Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, John Turturro as mob boss Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, and Andy Serkis as Bruce Wayne’s confidante and butler, Alfred Pennyworth.
Serkis talked to LADbible about playing this beloved character, and what the relationship between this Alfred and Bruce Wayne will look like. “It’s very much about the emotional connection between Alfred and Bruce. That’s really at the center of it. And it is a really exquisite script that Matt has written.”
I have to admit that as much as I adore Serkis, my favorite actor to play Alfred has always been Michael Caine. He just falls into that role with minimal effort, and I will most certainly miss him. “ was fantastic,” Serkis agreed. “His Alfred was legendary, I couldn’t even begin to go there, really. You find it for yourself. It’s like playing these iconic roles in Shakespeare, you go back, you revisit them and you have to make it your own, and see what it is about he character that connects with you and your personal Venn diagram.”
I appreciate it that Serkis won’t be trying to emulate what’s already been done and will put his own stamp on the role. Serkis is an incredible actor and I have no doubts he’ll make a great Alfred.
The only thing that I do feel nervous about is the fact that this is yet another DC movie, and the DCEU hasn’t had the best track record. Granted, it’s been improving with movies like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, but its average is still pretty low, especially compared to Marvel.
It’s almost scary to get our hopes high about this new version of Batman, but I’m going to cling to the hope that there’s no way this excellent cast can go wrong.
Fingers crossed.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels
h/t Indie Wire, SYFY Wire