Mike Lowery
Before Robert Pattinson even glimpsed a script, and Warner Bros retooled the project to be more of an origin pic and less of a “Justice League” side-step, “The Batman” had been fashioned as a creepy, ostensibly compelling spin-off for then-Caped Crusader Ben Affleck.
And while many assume Pattinson, under the direction of Matt Reeves, is headlining the same film Affleck was gearing up to do – it’s now been revealed that’s not the case at all.
Pattinson’s “The Batman”, which goes into production early next year, is said to be the first in a three-part detective story that’ll see Gotham’s favourite emo on the hunt for city rogues The Penguin, Catwoman and The Riddler.
The film Affleck was attached to was set entirely in Arkham Asylum -where, somehow, the superhero had found himself an involuntarily detainee.
During a recent interview, cinematographer Robert Richardson – who was set to shoot the thing – revealed some details about the abandoned film.
“I wanted to shoot Batman with Ben [Affleck] cause that was the next film we had,” Richardson said. “There was a script, but not a loved script. There was a lot of work he was doing to it to change it. He was going into the more insanity aspects… He was entering more into the Arkham, he’s going into where everyone was bad.”
The film would’ve been unlike any other “Batman” film we’ve seen thus far – and not just because it was set entirely in the loony sanctuary.
The DP revealed the script would’ve delved into Bruce Wayne’s own insanity.
“Well, [Affleck] was going more into the insanity aspects,” Richardson said. “So I think you would’ve seen something a little darker than what we’ve seen in the past and more into the individual, who was inside Batman — what element may be sane and what element may actually not be sane. So he was entering into a little more of the Arkham, as you know, he’s going into where you keep everyone who was bad, everyone that shifted and Batman. And so that whole aspect was sort of, it was very fascinating to go to the darker side of Batman.”
Richardson is no longer onboard the new “Batman” film, with “Dune” DP Greig Fraser now calling the shots.
“The Batman” is set for release June 25, 2021.
