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The Batman has over 80 years of history to draw from, but actor Jeffrey Wright, – who plays Commissioner Gordon in 2021’s reboot – thinks the new movie will progress the character, calling it the “next evolution” in the Caped Crusader’s storied legacy.
"My take is… we're working together to create a mood, to create an idea, a setting, a tone. This is the next evolution since 1939 when these stories began,” Wright told Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show (H/T THR).
High praise indeed, and one that will be music to the ears of Bat-Fans everywhere. But he didn’t stop there, also teasing that Batman’s home – Gotham – will also feature a similar leap forward.
“This is the next evolution of Gotham. So I am working off the stage Matt [Reeves] is providing and also working off what [Batman actor] Robert [Pattinson] is doing. We are trying to create something together that is our own, but is also Batman,” Wright said of The Batman’s lofty vision.
That philosophy can perhaps best be found in both the Batsuit and Batmobile. Each are unmistakably familiar to both new and long-time fans, but with their own unique spin. The Batsuit, for example, is less bulky than previous iterations, while the Batmobile ditches the high-tech gadgetry in favour of a souped-up muscle car.
On the Batmobile, Wright said, "I read the script for the Batmobile and I was like, 'Yeah, that's it,'” while also describing it as “the most badass muscle car you could imagine, but it's grounded in Gotham. It's grounded in Americana.”
We’ve come a long way since “Same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel” – The Batman is looking to shake up The Dark Knight’s mythos, perhaps unlike anything that's come before it.
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