The Batman: It Is Inspired By the Zodiac Killer Murders & Is ‘Almost a Horror’
It seems like Matt Reeves’ The Batman takes some real-life inspiration from the Zodiac Killer, with a grittier take on Riddler than we’ve witnessed before. The Director of the film Matt Reeves went as far as to reveal that his take on the superhero detective story is “almost a horror.”
During a recent interview with Movie Maker, Matt Reeves revealed the grizzly inspiration that went behind his version of the classic Batman villain, The Riddler.
“The premise of the movie is that the Riddler is kind of molded in an almost Zodiac Killer sort of mode, and is killing very prominent figures in Gotham, and they are the pillars of society,” he said. “These are supposedly legitimate figures. It begins with the mayor, and then it escalates from there.”
Paul Dano will be seen playing The Riddler – who is a serial killer and an arch-nemesis of the Dark Knight who ends up weaving an intricate puzzle for our hero to solve. But it seems like, as usual, the good of Gotham City aren’t really all they’re cracked up to be.
“In the wake of the murders, [The Riddler] reveals the ways in which these people were not everything they said they were, and you start to realize there’s some kind of association,” he explained. “And so just like Woodward and Bernstein, you’ve got Gordon and Batman trying to follow the clues to try and make sense of this thing in a classic kind-of-detective story way.”
Batman also stars Twilight fame Robert Pattinson as a younger version of Batman/Bruce Wayne, and it seems like the early days of his career will be the prime focus on getting Dano’s serial killer to justice. However, fans should not expect it to be really easy. The recent trailer of The Batman gives us a look of a more determined Batman, Reeves goes on to explain that the movie has more in common with a horror flick, while still being a detective story at its core.
“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,” he said. “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.”
This being said, there will be seemingly some pulling back from the true element of horror at its heart, given that The Batman has been given a PG-13 movie (as well as being the longest-ever Batman film).
Robert Pattinson will appear as The Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz who will play Selina Kyle, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, and Paul Dano as The Riddler.
The Batman is helmed by Matt Reeves, based on a screenplay written by Reeves himself, and Peter Craig. Walter Hamada is also listed as an executive producer with Chantal Nong, Simon Emanuel, and Michael E. Uslan. Dylan Clark, Matt Reeves, and Toby Hefferman are also present on board to produce.
