Assuming it isn’t hit by another delay, The Batman is now just six months away from release. DC fans have been waiting to see Robert Pattinson’s debut as the Dark Knight for the longest time, and the more we hear about it, the more hype grows. Recently, some early reactions renewed interest in the movie. Someone who saw an early test screening described it as akin to a “horror movie” in tone, with a hefty runtime of 3 hours.
As you’d expect, however, there’s a good chance the finished film will be much shorter, although we’re hearing that there’s some back and forth going on behind the scenes over this. Our reliable sources – the same ones who told us about Ben Affleck’s return in The Flash movie long before it was confirmed – say that director Matt Reeves is currently clashing with Warner Bros. over The Batman‘s runtime. Reeves wants to keep it at 3 hours, while the studio is keen to cut it down.
This is a scenario we’ve seen play out over and over again with WB and their DCEU filmmakers. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had 30 minutes chopped off its theatrical release, which severely harmed the plot and pace, causing WB to restore the full cut for the Ultimate Edition home release. Likewise, Patty Jenkins pushed to make Wonder Woman 1984 lengthier but lost that battle, too.
Marvel, on the other hand, generally likes to keep their own movies below the 150-minute mark, but they did deliver the 3-hour Avengers: Endgame, which proved that audiences aren’t turned off by long movies, what with it being the highest-grossing picture of all time. Perhaps Reeves will win this debate, and he’ll get to go with his full cut, but precedent suggests WB will insist he trim it down.
The Batman is on course to swoop into cinemas on March 4th, 2022.
