With the press tour beginning for The Batman and there being multiple interviews with director
Matt Reeves and his cast, we are starting to learn even more about the filmmaker's vision
alongside what we can expect down the line if this first movie is successful.
Yesterday, a new interview with Collider was published and it included Reeves and Pattinson
talking about some new details surrounding their Dark Knight
iteration.
In particular, one of the main points involved Matt Reeves discussing that he would love
to tackle Mr. Freeze and bring a more grounded take on the character, similar to
how he aims to redefine the riddler in his latest film.
In this video, I'm going to be discussing his comments on Mr. Freeze alongside some
of the other talking points that was shared by Collider as we count the days down to the
release of the new movie.
But before I get into it, if you want to see much more videos on The
Batman leading up to it's release date, including the conclusion of my road to The Batman series
and my cinematic edit releasing this Friday, then don't forget to support this upload
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But without further a do, lets discuss the new details from Matt Reeves on the potential
of Dr. Freeze being a villain in the sequel and
much more.
So Batman has been adapted to the big screen with many iterations, those being unique in
tone and style, with the gritty realism of Christopher Nolan's films, the gothic Tim
Burton installments and the broken down, yet eventually
reconstructed take with Snyder's Justice League.
And through the extended theatrical history it has differed every time and that's
what really get's us all excited when it comes to another new take with Matt Reeves.
And one thing that comes along with those unique iterations, is the plethora of villains
that the filmmakers have available to bring to life
in various ways.
There's of course the more campier, fantastical ones, but even those can redefined for a new
take and yet done in a way that respects the heart of their character.
Matt Reeves recently spoke at a conference after a screening of The Batman and Collider
reports that he doubled down on discussing his grounded
take on characters with a suggestion about who could be a sequel villain.
And this focus on realism is something that Reeves may be aiming to bring with a more
fantastical villain in the next film.
When speaking directly about Mr. Freeze, the filmmaker said, "In my view, I just feel drawn
to finding the grounded version of everything.
So to me it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and
figure out how that could happen, even the idea of something like Mr. Freeze, that's
such a great story.
I think there's actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really
powerful and could be really great.
So, I love the fantastical side of Batman, and while this iteration is very comics faithful,
I don't think that this leans as hard into the fantastical.
But I think to me what would be interesting would be to try and unwind the fantastical
and see, well, how could that make sense here?
And so that's kind of my view, how I see it".
So that means that the more fantastical villains can make an appearance, just less like Arnold
Schwarzenegger's campy interpretation and more believable in the world Reeves is
building.
There's plenty of time to see other famous villains and characters be introduced too
with two theatrical sequels for The Batman planned, if the first goes down well and two
series currently in the works at HBO Max.
Those include one set at the GCPD with Jim Gordon, and another being a crime story focussed
on Colin Farrell's Penguin.
But when it comes to Mr. Freeze, if we do see him in a potential
sequel, what could be sources of inspiration.
Well it's key to note that the version presented by Schumacher and Schwarzenegger may have
been an over the top and quip-filled take, but the actual character himself has a tragic
backstory that could easily be tapped into to present a more grounded and realistic iteration.
In the comics and the characters history, Dr. Victor Fries is a cryogenic scientist
engaged in research that he hopes will help to cure his terminally ill wife.
But eventually, he's involved in a lab accident that freezes his
body and forces him to wear a cryo-suit in order to survive.
His extended will is to still to help his wife, but he often comes into contact
with Batman along the way and things get frosty.
This was included in Schwarzenegger's version, but the look and portrayal of the character
completely left out the humanity, ultimately make him quite one-dimensional.
In Reeves Batman, if he were to approach the famous character, the filmmaker could really
go more into the inner-conflict that he faces and make it as
a kind of reverse to what we are seeing with the Riddler in this film.
The Riddler is being presented as quite mysterious and we barely see his face whereas with Freeze
we'd be potentially getting more of the exploration
of his feelings and a full transformation of that character, seeing the man become the
villain we know.
It of course remains to be seen how Reeves would do it and even if he would, but
the love he's expressed for that character and wanting to adapt him, does get me exited
for what we could see in a Batman sequel.
I personally would love to see something along
the lines of the Batman Arkham Games, which was definitely more emotional and grounded,
making for a complete reverse to what we got before.
Whatever route he takes I'm sure it will be one that fits Reeves vision and something
that doesn't aim in too much on the fantastical.
But while that was all we got surrounding the potential of a Mr. Freeze in a Batman
sequel, actor Robert Pattinson and Reeves himself went a bit more into some other intriguing
details such as whether we'd see Robin in this new
world.
Pattinson expresed that he'd love to see Robin in a film, saying, "He has to be 13.
That's the only way I'll accept it.
I love Death in the Family and stuff, but I think
it'd be so cool.
Also people are so scared of it, but it's kind of exciting.
I think it would be a really fun addition."
He's of course referencing the comic book storyline which
saw then Jason Todd murdered at the hands of The Joker.
Matt Reeves also chipped in here, agreeing that he'd like to do it, while expanding
on the pressures of making this kind of movie.
He said, "Yeah, I agree with that.
The thing about doing a Batman movie is it's scary to do one.
Because, first of all, there've been great ones, and also every single person has
a vision of Batman in their head".
Like Pattinson, he noted that he too, "likes Death in the Family," further adding that
he follows the idea of "approaching some of those stories,
and [thinking], how can we do this in a way that feels fresh and grounded.
Looking at that scary thing and seeing if there's a way to
do it".
The question, he says, is whether they'll be too scared, but he concludes: "I think
we should try."
Maybe we will see other storylines like this be done in a way that's
appropriate for this grounded take, and after all, the Mr Freeze and Robin storylines could
be the essense of going wild and doing something quite unexpected.
Something that surprisingly would work and not feel too fantastical.
Obviously, they'll be an element of that theme, but it's all about aiming the focus at telling
a relatable and realistic story, that just so happens to have all of thes elements
we know.
While they are both different in extreme ways, that kind of approach was something Nolan's
trilogy also tapped into and those films have barely aged because we believe
everything that is happening, in that more realistic world.
And speaking of building a more realistic world, Pattinson and Reeves talked a little
more on how they went about building their version of Gotham and crucially, how the performer
went about showing Bruce's emotion behind the cowl and the difficulties around that.
With the design of the Batsuit in The Batman, Robert Pattinson displays more emotive freedom,
as we see his feelings under the mask.
The director wanted to have a Batman who could emote under the mask, something you don't
get as much in this kind of film.
But of course, that comes with it's challenges.
Matt Reeves said, "Of course, the point was to make his emotions be visible through the
cowl.
We had no idea how hard it was going to be.
I mean, there were times when I would come to Rob, and I'd go,
'Okay, great.
I just need to feel a little more.'
And he'd be like, 'More?
More?'.
It was one of these things, I have to say, it's a true
testament to Rob as a performer.
And he's so technical as well as incredibly emotional.
I would watch Rob get himself into that state where he would be getting really raw before
he would shoot.
Then I would be saying, 'I think I need to see a little bit more through the cowl.'
I would just be doing that, but it was definitely by design a huge challenge.
And thank God I had Rob to work with.".
He then expanded on this going more into his design of Gotham city, saying, "It was very
important to me that Gotham not be New York, not be
Chicago, not be any particular city, I wanted you to feel like, wow, this is a place we've
never been before, but it feels absolutely like an iconic American city, a really corrupt,
messed up place".
So with that, we get a clear understanding of Reeves bringing in real world connections,
and having his characters within that world be able to emote even when they
wear the costumes.
And what we've seen in the latest TV Spots, actually shows how he's combined different
parts of different cities into one complete version of Gotham.
It's like the best of what we could get from a real-life
take on this city.
There's the gothic architecture of Liverpool and Glasgow, mixed in with the dingy industrial
structures of American cities we know too.
It'll be interesting to see how this all comes to life within scenes from the film, but everything
Reeves and Pattinson said in this post screening conference, is
indeed exciting to hear.
But that was my breakdown of the new interview details with Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson
on the potential of Dr. Freeze in a Batman sequel and more.
We are getting closer to the release date and soon we will be able to see
what reaction this first film gets and how it performs at the box office.
If as we expect, things go down well, then we can expect the
director's extended vision to be greenlit with at least two more Batman films.
Maybe, as Reeves is hinting at, those films could include the iconic villain in Mr. Freeze
and we'd potentially see his emotional and tragic transformation
in a way that we wouldnt expect.
I myself would love to see this tackled, especially the more grounded version that Reeves is
suggesting and it gets me thinking about all the other villains that could be included
in this new trilogy.
Based on the direction they are going for, I think we could definitely
see the could of owls as it would fully link into the detective themes and emotional storyline,
while being saved as a kind of unravelling for Bruce later in his journey.
Reeves could of course tackle any villain he wanted to
and make it work, but I would like to see some new theatrical villains like them as
well.
Still, if Mr. Freeze does turn out to be a focal
point, then I would sure be anticipating that iteration.
But I'm interested to hear what you guys think towards the potential of Mr. Freeze being
a Batman sequel villain alongside all of the other details I've discussed in this
video.
So let me know down below in the comments section.
For more videos surrounding The Batman leading up to March, including the conclusion of my
Road to The Batman series, then subscribe to the channel and turn on your notifications.
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But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex
and as always make some noise.