Warner Bros. released a new image from The Batman depicting a tense encounter between the Dark Knight and The Riddler’s latest victim, District Attorney Gil Colson.
The image is one of three stills from director Matt Reeves’ upcoming superhero reboot featured in Total Film and made available online by GamesRadar+. It shows star Robert Pattinson in full Batman attire standing opposite a kneeling (or seated), blood-spattered Colson, who has duct tape on his mouth and a menacing-looking metal collar around his neck.
This shot appears to take place sometime after The Batman‘s leaked funeral scene, in which Colson (played by Peter Sarsgaard) emerges from a crashed SUV covered in blood and wearing the same bomb-equipped collar. Pattinson is in his Bruce Wayne persona during the funeral, so apparently, enough time elapses between the funeral and the moment depicted in the new image for him to don his batsuit.
Together, the funeral scene and new image back up Reeves’ previous statements that Paul Dano’s Riddler was inspired by real-life serial killer, the Zodiac. Like the Zodiac, The Batman‘s incarnation of The Riddler seeks to humiliate and undermine the establishment with his deadly puzzles. His targets include prominent Gotham City figures like Colson and Gotham City Mayor Don Mitchell Jr., and if rumors are to be believed, Bruce Wayne could also find himself on Riddler’s hit list.
The other two photos released alongside the image of Batman and Colson are decidedly less revelatory, but impressive all the same. One is a moody shot of Batman drenched in shadow against a hazy, red-tinged urban backdrop. The other shows the Caped Crusader alongside his trusted ally Lieutenant James Gordon, in what appears to be the Gotham City Police Department.
Directed and co-written by Reeves, The Batman is set during the second year of Bruce Wayne’s vigilante career. It stars Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/The Riddler, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin. The film will be the longest standalone Batman movie to date, with a confirmed runtime of two hours and 55 minutes (including credits).
The Batman arrives in theaters on March 4 before making its debut on HBO Max on April 19.
Source: Total Film magazine, via GamesRadar+
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