In what has definitely been a tumultuous year for DC and Warner Bros., Matt Reeves’The Batmancame to represent a welcome break from all the burdens of an interconnected universe, and now fans see first hand what makes the film tick thanks to its screenplay being shared for the first time.
AlthoughThe Batmancame out towards the earlier part of the year and its numbers failed to match Marvel’s own releases, the film was widely praised for its writing, characters and cinematography, which is why it’s not surprising to see it’s the sole part of DC that’s gone untouched by James Gunn’s massive revamp. Naturally, the film owes its success to Reeves’ camera work, but perhaps even more so to his creative direction to set the course for a new Batman era with the dark tone that can be better appreciated in the published version of the screenplay.
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The full text, shared byDeadline, is surprisingly short for a movie that’s nearly 3 hours long, as it only totals 131 pagescompared to, for example,Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchiothat comes in at 120 pages. However, the devil is in the details andThe Batman’sblueprint packs that somber detective plot from the very start. From the get-go, Reeves and fellow writer Peter Craig describeThe Batman’sunforgettable opening sequence with the “SOMEONE BREATHING” cue in bold letters making it clear how important it is to establish the Riddler as the murderous creepy force that he is, considering that the mainvillain was inspired by the Zodiac killer.
Not only that, the pair’s decision to take their time withThe Batmanis evident as Bruce Wayne doesn’t really show up until page 14, with the screenplay clearly reading “we finally SEE BRUCE WAYNE”, a sign that this a Batman that’s fully immersed himself into the Caped Crusader’s persona, with little to no regard for his own personal life. Funnily enough, this edited version of the screenplay is dated July 19, 2025, meaning by then the iconic DC FanDome teaser with Nirvana’s “Something in the Way” had already come out and the text includes cues for when the song should play during the movie.
Overall, it’s clear from reading almost any random page of this work that Reeves and Craig were on a mission to makeThe Batmanthe most realistic and darker version of Bruce Wayne seen on screen to this date, and it’s fair to say they hit it out of the park. Not only that, the film made just over $770m worldwide and is set to launch a whole newBatmanverse that includes greenlit spinoffs forThe Penguinand iconic Gotham institutions like the GCPD or Arkham Asylum.
WhileThe Batman’sstory was not exempt from criticism, it’s hard to argue against these two men’s plan as the decision to base their story on theYear Twocomic books introduceda new emo facet of this DC superheroto even more people, and movie’s popularity speaks for itself.
