Matt Reeves explains why The Batman has to be a detective story

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The Batman is a noir detective story, according to its director

The Batman
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

The Batman director Matt Reeves has explained why the film will see the vigilante as the World's Greatest Detective.

The upcoming DC Comics movie stars Robert Pattinson as Batman, AKA Bruce Wayne, and looks to be a dark, moody detective tale with the Caped Crusader going up against Paul Dano's villainous – and terrifying – Riddler.

"I wanted to do a story in which the corruption of Gotham was one of the most important aspects of the story, because Gotham is a sick place. Bruce is desperate to try and make a change," Reeves told MovieMaker Magazine (H/T ComicBook.com). "He's still stuck, to be honest, emotionally stunted at being 10 years old, because that's a trauma you don't get past – witnessing your parents murder in this place."

The director added that Batman has been depicted as a noir-style character from his first comic book appearance – and explained why Gotham's sleaze is the perfect fit for a detective story.

"This idea of a place that is corrupt, and you try to swim against the tide in order to fight against it and make a difference, is quintessential Batman," Reeves said. "And at the center of those noir stories is almost always the detective, right? And that's why he is the world's greatest detective. And so this story is, in addition to being almost a horror movie, and a thriller, and an action movie, at its core, it's also very much a detective story. It's very narrative."

Along with Pattinson and Dano, the film stars Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone.

The Batman releases in theaters this March 4. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of this year's major movie release dates to start planning those theater trips.  

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.