‘The Batman’ Isn’t An Origin Story, But Director Matt Reeves Called It The ‘Most Emotional Batman Movie Ever Made’

New footage from The Batman — the movie that dares to ask, what if a man… was a bat — debuted at CinemaCon on Tuesday, but it hasn’t been released to the public yet. Instead, Entertainment Weekly has a write-up about what was screened, including Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne looking emo-broody and beating people up in the streets of Gotham. It’s your typical Dark Knight fare, but in a behind-the-scenes featurette, director Matt Reeves explained why The Batman isn’t your typical origin story.

“I felt that we’ve seen lots of origin stories. It seems things go further and further into fantasy, and I thought, well, one place we haven’t been is grounding it in the way that Year One does, to come right in to a young Batman, not being an origin tale, but referring to his origins and shaking him to his core,” he said, referring to Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s influential Batman: Year One comics. “You can have it be very practical, but I also thought it could be the most emotional Batman movie ever made.”

Pattinson added that “from the first conversation I had with Matt… I just knew that there was something radically different.” He also called Batman “one of the major characters of the 20th century, and so many people connect with it on such a deep level for so many different reasons.” I feel the same way, but about his character from The Lighthouse.

The Batman opens on March 4, 2022.