All That is Teased in The Batman Camera Test

Over the past 4 years, DC Superhero Batman has been through one of the toughest battles he has ever faced, and that battle was the struggle behind the scenes for The Batman. Initially, it started as a passion project of Ben Affleck, and after years of setbacks: Affleck stepping down as director, Reeves becoming director, years of speculation of if Affleck would continue in the Cowl, Affleck retiring the cowl after Justice League, and then finally the casting of Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight. To say the road has been bumpy, would be a gross understatement. However, with the film finally underway in its production, last night we were given the moment we were all waiting for in a camera test displaying our first look at Pattenson's batsuit, and for me at least, it did not disappoint one bit.

For a video that lasts just under a minute (57 seconds to be exact) this clip gives us way more than we deserved from a first look. We not only got our first look at the new Batman, but we got a taste of the film's score and even the red tone of the camera lens confirms a lot of existing theories about the atmosphere that this Gotham is meant to convey. However, let's start by talking about the obvious. Let's look at this suit. 

Now right away you can start to see that this suit takes some heavy inspiration from the Arkham games. The armor on the torso, chest, and shoulders feels very reminiscent of specifically Origins if you ask me. However, that is just the loudest influence. The neck guard attached to the cape is very much from the recent Sean Gordon Murphy White Knight Universe, which honestly is a welcome addition as Murphy's design for Batman is one of my favorite modern interpretations. However, the only thing we don't really get a good look at is the cowl, and I think that it's intentional. I have personally always preferred the short-eared cowl, the only time I have ever really liked the long ears was in the Tim Burton Batman films. That being said, I think we may actually see Reeves' design team make an attempt at the Golden age Batman cowl. Reeves has stated multiple times that he wants his Batman to stand on its own and be different and from an aesthetic standpoint the long, outward-pointing cowl ears would do just that. In addition, the original cowl from the golden age lends itself far more to making Batman feel like an old school horror monster, and if the instrumental that accompanies this is anything to go by, that's exactly what they are looking for here. 

As much as I love this look at Batman's suit, I love the taste of the score even more. We already have confirmation from the composer of "The Batman" that this composition is indeed his, and if this is the first taste of our new Batman theme bring me the punch bowl because I want to drink it all in. The theme showcases themes of suspense and horror, but more importantly, it is iconic and fits the character of Batman so well. It's haunting, scary even. This is a theme designed for the creature that goes bump in the night, this Batman in a whole new light than what has been previously showcased on film and if this theme is indicative at all on the film's tone, I hope that this Batman scares the audience as much as he scares his criminals. 

We've talked about the suit, we've talked about the score, but one of the greatest things that this camera test all but confirmed is the theory that this Gotham is designed to mimic the aesthetic of the beloved Batman The Animated Series. A few months ago, as film sets were being built, this became speculative due to the appearance of Airships in a few of the set photos. While this was strong enough evidence for most, the red filter used on the lens to film this camera test puts the nail in the coffin for me, as the night time sky of Gotham in the Animated series is red. Now I could be wrong, and that could seem like a stretch, but the only way I could think of that would be able to capture that aesthetic in live-action would be to film the night time scenes through a red lens filter. All I can say is that if this proves to be true, I am praying for a scene where Batman stands atop a Gotham skyscraper, the red night sky behind him and a lightning bolt going across it. I doubt it will happen, but that would be a level of fan service that would make me cry.

What Matt Reeves has given us in regards to this first look is better than literally any Batman reveal than we've had in the past. He didn't just give us a suit, he gave us a taste for the atmosphere of his film, he did that through music and he did it through the visual storytelling of his cameras. No matter what happens, you can pretty much count that on June 25, 2021, I will be in a theater seat watching Matt Reeves' The Batman.