The Batman Trailer Breakdown: Details and Theories
Matt Reeves posted the trailer in 4K on vimeo so I downloaded it and played it frame by frame. Here are a few things that I’ve noticed:
1. The Batcave entrance looks like it’s through the cemetery:
A few months ago in early 2020, footage was released of a Batman stunt double filming a cemetery scene while riding a motorcycle. Those scenes were filmed in Glasgow, UK which has a lot of Gothic architecture similar to Liverpool where the majority of the Gotham City scenes were filmed. Liverpool is Gotham according to Matt Reeves. Based on this, it looks like the entrance to the Batcave is through the cemetery.
2. It has references to the Court of Owls and the Long Halloween comics:
The card addressed to Batman features an owl on the front of it and is a very Halloween style card. The front of the card reads “From your secret friend Whoo?”. The Long Halloween was supposed to be a part of the inspiration for this movie so it seems like they included that as a little easter egg. The owl is likely a reference to Talon and the Court of Owls. Interestingly enough, Matt Reeves says that over the course of the movie, Bruce thinks heavily about Gotham’s corruptions and what part his family played in the making of Gotham City. I think that in combination with the inclusion of the Court of Owls imagery might hint at Thomas and Martha’s connection to the CoO, which Bruce could discover. The Riddler also taunts Batman about ‘no more lies’ and seems to want him to investigate the corruption in Gotham so it’s possible that maybe the Riddler is one who nudges Bruce in the ‘look into your family history’ direction. Thomas and Martha apposed the CoO, which was a ‘cult’ (pretty much) of Gotham’s wealthiest families who did nefarious things in order to manipulate politics. In the comics, Bruce thinks that the CoO played a part in the death of his parents and he even mentions to Dick that it was one of his first ‘cases’ as a ‘detective’ and this film is all about Bruce being a detective. On the Talon side of things, the gauntlets Bruce wears are similar to the ones worn by Talon.
3. The themes of mental health and depression
It’s obvious that this is going to be the brooding, ‘emo’ Batman that was depicted in a lot of the comics and I absolutely love that. Matt Reeves has already stated that the movie will dive into Bruce’s psychology and his ‘shadow side’ aka Batman (the “split” personality of Bruce Wayne and Batman is what it sounds like to me). The inclusion of Nirvana’s Something In the Way really sells this for me. The song is about depression and the time Kurt Cobain (the leader singer of Nirvana) was kicked out of the house and had to live under a bridge. It’s a fairly dark song and it was an absolutely amazing choice for the trailer. We also see a lot of shots of Bruce that make him seem like the brooding, struggling Batman I’ve always wanted to see on the big scene. There is a scene in particular of him still wearing the smudgy eyeliner but no cowl, hiding away somewhere and it looks to me like he’s spying on the crime scene. There is also the scene in which he goes batshit (pun fully intended, you’re welcome) on the criminals with the face paint. If you listen, you can hear the heavy impacts of Bruce’s fist hitting the guy’s face. That was hardcore. To me, it seems like Bruce is angry and struggling so he takes these emotions out on the criminals. He hasn’t quite realized himself yet and is in his ‘emo phase’ of being Batman if you will. Red is also a large part of the movie’s color scheme. Red symbolizes aggression, blood, violence, and passion. I think that perfectly describes this new version of Batman.
4. The Batmobile looks like a 1960′s Mustang Mach 1 or a Boss 302
Bruce built (heavily modified) the Batmobile according to Matt Reeves, but I’d say my top guesses for the original car are either a Mustang Mach 1 or a Boss 302 - but definitely from the 60′s I bet. The headlights and the shape of the car give off major 60′s vibes. It’s hard to tell exactly what kind of car is was originally because it’s so heavily modified, but I’d say it’s likely a Mustang.
5. Bruce is able to get the suit on very quickly
The scene with the funeral which ends up getting attacked starts with Bruce in a normal suit and tie but we then see Batman fighting back and getting caught up in an explosion. Thus, Bruce has to have quick access to the suit (maybe carrying it around in a brief case like the Robin suits are in Titans or the Batcave is close enough for him to get from the funeral to the cave and back quickly).
6. The movie is likely set in modern times but Bruce was probably a 90′s Kid
Two scenes in particular stand out when trying to determine the time of the film and both of them involve the use of what looks like cellphones. In the funeral scene, the guy who attacks it looks like he has a cellphone in his hand. In the scene where Bruce brutally beats up the criminal, one of them looks to be recording it on his phone. I think the movie will include things from a lot of decades (90′s music, 60′s car, modern day cellphones, etc.) but will primarily take place in modern times. In the Year One comics, which this movie appears to be heavily based off of, it looks like Bruce becomes Batman at age 25/26. If this is his second year as Batman, that puts him at 27/28- which makes since considering Pattinson is 34. Assuming the movie is set in 2021, that puts Bruce’s birthday between 1993-1996 (February 19th if you want to get really specific). The early-mid 90′s were prime time for Nirvana, which is featured in the trailer, so it makes sense that Bruce would’ve heard Something in the Way (released in 1991) when growing up. Additionally, if I’m correct in my theory that the Batmobile was originally a 1960′s Mustang, it’s highly possible that the car previously belonged to Thomas Wayne.
Miscellaneous details/theories:
The funeral that is shown is for who appears to be the Gotham DA Gil Colson played by Peter Sarsgaard and was murdered by the Riddler.
The Gotham Gazette and The Gotham Times both exist in the movie.
The Maroni crime gang is active and involved in a drug ring. It appears that Gil Colson was part of the court case for the drug bust because there is a framed newspaper article about it hanging up in his house.
I’m pretty sure the Riddler’s card for Batman reads “What does a liar do when he’s dead?” on the inside however some of the words were cut off. The one’s in bold are the ones that are confirmed and clearly visible. Alternatives for do could also be say or get. It seems to be a short word based on the spacing.
In the scene where the cops swarm Batman, it looks like Bruce was going after one of the cops. He’s looking directly at one of them and starts to stalk towards him but one of the other cops pushes him out of the way and the rest of them start grabbing at Bruce.
Catwoman wears high-heeled boots.
Without the police (appears to be nighttime), Bruce visits the crime scene where the DA was murdered and Selena shows up (the scene where he dodges her kick and they look at each other).
The back of the car that crashes at the funeral has DOA (dead upon arrival) painted on the back of it. The license plate number is S30 7WD, but this doesn’t seem to symbolize anything.
The criminals likely aren’t Jokers’ goons. They are wearing black and white face paint and one of them has a cross painted on his forehead. The Joker is known for white face paint, but not the combination of black and white and not religious symbols like the cross. I think they’re the Penguin’s goons because his colors are black and white.
The Batsuit can deflect bullets, at least the chest piece can. Around 2 minutes into the trailer, Bruce gets show point blank in the chest but the bullet never goes through.
The string of murders seems to start with the DA, Gil Colson, and eventually progress to the Mayor. It was rumored a while back that both were going to be killed by the Riddler and the trailer seems to confirm this.
The Riddler seems to be sending Bruce a message in the scene where he takes off the cowl after the logo is showed. He’s standing in front of a computer and someone’s picture is shown on the screen but it turns black and white and then white words show up across the screen. It then cuts to a close up of his face after ward. Though it’s pure speculation and sorta a reach, I think the picture might be of Thomas Wayne. The voice over during this scene says “you’re a part of this too” followed by “how am I a part of this?”. I think this could possibly be talking about the Wayne’s involvement in either the CoO or the corruption of Gotham City (at least in the eyes of the Riddler). I think it’s possible that the Riddler views Bruce as ‘part of this’ because he’s a Wayne. The close up of Bruce’s face also makes it seem like something unhappy was brought up. His countenance looks like a mix between angry and somewhat distressed (kinda like the face someone would make if they brought up the trauma of his dead father and accused him of being part of Gotham’s downfall?).
It’s also possible that the scene where Bruce meets Selena happens in Falcone’s house as in Batman: Year One he sneaks into the house and runs into Selena who’s trying to rob it.
The movie could potentially end with the mention of “a guy going by the name of Joker”. Supposedly, Pattinson will be starring in a trilogy so it’s highly possible that the Joker will appear eventually. He obviously won’t be a major character in this movie, but it could be mentioned in an end-credit scene. The Year One comic ends with Gordon getting a promotion and contacting Batman about “somebody going by the name Joker” which seems like it could fall in place perfectly will the movie. Based on the scenes in the trailer, it doesn’t look like Gordon is the Commissioner yet.
That’s all I’ve got for now, but let me know if I missed anything. This is all speculation based off the footage and what Matt has said so far, so none of this is officially confirmed (outside of things like the filming location and stuff like that). If anyone is interested in trying to crack the Riddler’s riddle that’s inside the card (all the weird symbols), hit me up. I have nothing better to do and I enjoy puzzles so we’ll see where this goes.
Update: I solved the riddle. The answer is “he lies still”.
