The Batman cast reveals Kurt Cobain, cat videos as key influences

Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which is expected to be released on March 4, 2022, is not connected to the rest of the DC Extended Universe. That wasn’t always the plan: the film was originally a vehicle for Ben Affleck to star, write, and direct. But the youngest Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay got dissatisfied – first with his own script and then with the concept of playing Batman.

If Reeves – the director of Kleefeld and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – took over, the film began slowly, surely, and moved away from the DCEU. Now Reeves and the cast, detached from the limitations of famous cameos and pressures from a larger universe, begin their own influences on the DC characters in a. to discuss Batman-filled output of rich.

For starters, there’s Nirvana front man and alternative icon Kurt Cobain. Cobain, who struggled with that Concept of masculinity all his life, may not seem like the first thought to some of a character as associated with masculinity as Batman. But Reeves listens to music as he writes, and “when I was writing the first act, I was putting on Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way'” by Nirvanas Does not matter, he tells Empire.

“It occurred to me that instead of making Bruce Wayne the Playboy version that we saw before, there is another version that went through great tragedy and became a recluse. So I started making that connection with Gus Van Sant’s Last days, and the idea that this fictional version of Kurt Cobain is in such a decaying mansion, ”says Reeves, referring to Van Sant’s 2005 film, which is loosely based on Cobain.

That v ision eventually led Reeves to Robert Pattinson, who first stood out in the Safdie Brothers. Good time,

a film in which “you could really feel your vulnerability and despair, but also your power. ”

Patz-man is unlikely to be wearing flannel, but this Bruce Wayne has “been out and about every night for two years, getting beaten and shot and stabbed and burned, and you can see it,” Reeves says.

Of course, what makes Batman stand out among the comic book heroes is his really fantastic Rouges gallery. The Batman will (as far as we know) show Paul Dano as The Riddler, Colin Farrell as The Penguin and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman.

Farrell reportedly found inspiration for his penguin from another loner who shied away from fame and died prematurely: John Cazale, best known today as Fredo Corleone The Godfather. Lacking the intelligence or viciousness of his younger brothers, Fredo becomes isolated and vengeful. For the penguin Reeves Says, “He’s a middle-tier gangster and he’s got a bit of show spirit, but you can tell he wants more and he’s underrated. He’s ready to make his move. “

Zoë Kravitz also sees The Batwoman as the Catwoman origin story.

There are no specific movie characters named as inspiration for Catwoman. Rather, when working with stuntman Rob Alonzo, Kravitz “watched cats and lions and how they fight,” she says rich, with an emphasis on “what’s possible when you’re my size and Batman is so much stronger than me. What is my ability? It’s quick and tricky. So we did some really interesting groundwork that included different types of martial arts and capoeira and some kind of cat-like dance movement. “

Interestingly, Halle Berry took a similar approach to her infamous take on character. Before her role in 2004, which earned her a razzie, Berry watched cat shots for hours. But it’s unlikely that Kravitz will have much in common with Berry’s portrayal.

“This is an origin story for Selina,” says Kravitz. “So she’s starting to find out who she is, more than just someone trying to survive. I think there is a lot of room to grow and I think we’ll watch her become a femme fatale that I believe in. “