The Batman is coming. And everything we’ve seen from director Matt Reeves‘ take on the Dark Knight points to it being an intense big screen return for the Caped Crusader. Now a newly released clip from The Batman shows it will also be an emotional one. As a young Bruce Wayne grapples with both his own painful past and a dangerous new threat to Gotham.
Warner Bros. has shared a clip from The Batman that provides our best look yet at the movie. ( Reeves also shared the 4K version.) With a scene that has been teased throughout the film’s promos. It features Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in a giant cathedral. He’s at a packed funeral for a city official the Riddler killed. (A death also teased in the film’s trailers.) As Bruce walks down the aisle, mayoral candidate Bella Reál (Jayme Lawson) talks to him about doing more for the city. Much like his parents did. But Wayne’s thoughts are clearly on his parents’ death, as he locks eyes with the slain man’s young son. In a moment that seems to transport Bruce back to his own mom and dad’s funeral.
The quiet rustle of people talking in hushed tones, combined with the choir’s song, makes for a striking effect. In a sequence that quickly goes sideways. It starts when Jeffrey Wright’s Jim Gordon tells his police chief another public figure is missing. Gil Colson doesn’t stay lost for long though. The sounds of bombs, gunfire, and screams outside grab everyone’s attention in the church. Except for Bruce Wayne’s. He looks up at a shadowy figure in the balcony. The Riddler is not only there, he seems to know exactly who Bruce Wayne is. And the Riddler has a message for him, as Gil Colson turns up in a car that crashes into the church. Bruce is able to save the young grieving boy. But the Riddler’s real message to The Batman is on Colson’s chest. Along with a bomb around his neck.
The 2:45 clips doesn’t reveal Colson’s fate. Nor how “The Batman” gets his letter. But this scene is plenty long to confirm that Reeves’ film will be as much an emotional psychological thriller as it is a superhero film. The only riddle we have to solve is how to stay remain patient until it comes to theaters in the US on March 4.