There’s been a lot of talk about who will star in The Batman ever since it was announced that Robert Pattinson will play the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves’ upcoming movie. There still hasn’t been a peep on the casting side of things, but as for behind the camera, word’s come in that cinematographer Greig Fraser will work on The Batman.
Greig Fraser’s previous work in cinematography includes Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Zero Dark Thirty, Lion and last year’s Vice. He’s currently in the middle of filming Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (which comes out in November 2020), so once that’s finished, presumably he’ll turn to The Batman next.
It had originally been rumored that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s cinematographer Robert Richardson was being lined up to oversee photography on The Batman, but Richardson denied that, saying he never spoke with Matt Reeves. Here’s what Greig Fraser told THR about being hired onto the DC movie:
It’s great to be working with Matt again. The Batman franchise is iconic and its a privilege to now be able to visualize it in my own way. Especially with the cumulative creative potential of all the talent and technicians we have in front of and behind the camera.
Matt Reeves and Greig Fraser previously worked on Reeves’ 2010 movie Let Me In, which starred Kodi-Smit McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz, and followed a boy who developed a friendship with a young vampire girl. Let Me In was met with a lot of positive reception, so hopefully Reeves and Fraser can keep this critical good fortune going with The Batman.
Although originally Ben Affleck was going to direct and star in The Batman, which would have seen the eponymous protagonist battle Deathstroke, Affleck later stepped down as director and confirmed a year later he was done playing Batman. When Matt Reeves came aboard to write and direct The Batman, he started from scratch on the story, and no specific plot details have been revealed yet.
Generally speaking, though, The Batman will be a noir tale that highlights Bruce Wayne’s detective skills. Robert Pattinson’s iteration of Gotham City’s protector will also fight multiple villains, who are rumored to include Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Firefly, Two-Face and Mad Hatter.
It’s rumored that The Batman will begin filming in January 2020, and composer Michael Giacchino, who has frequently collaborated with Matt Reeves, recently said that the stuff he’s seen pertaining to the movie is “pretty darn awesome.” And rest assured, Matt Reeves knows there’s a lot riding on The Batman, as he shared video from a crowd at San Diego Comic-Con pleading that he not screw up the movie.
The Batman casts its shadow in theaters on June 25, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress. You can also look through our DC movies guide to learn what else the franchise has coming up.
