Was The Batman truly one of a kind? Paul Dano revealed why he thinks the film did so well in a world of superhero fatigue.
“Superhero fatigue” is the new hotness in the world of media criticism, with many pointing to box office flops like The Flash and The Marvels as omens of the end times for superhero films. However, movies like The Batman still manage to excel at the box office. During an interview, The Batman star Paul Dano said that the movie was a hit because its script failed to be predictable like other projects in the genre.
“It’s an interesting moment where everybody has to go like, ‘OK – what now?’ Hopefully from that, somebody either breathes new life into [comic book movies], or something else blossoms which is not superheroes,” Dano explained to The Independent. “I’m sure there will still be some good ones yet to come, but I think it’s kind of a welcome moment.”
“It’s a larger thing, too. As soon as the word ‘content’ came into what we do – meaning making movies or TV – it meant quantity over quality, which I think was a big misstep. And I certainly don’t need that as a viewer or as an artist.”
“There are enough comic book movies where you just know what you’re gonna get. Reading the script for The Batman, you knew it was a real film. Every sentence…that’s just [writer/director] Matt Reeves.”
It’s certainly true that The Batman was a love letter to the character from writer-director Matt Reeves. However, there was also clearly passion put into projects like The Marvels, even if the latter couldn’t find its footing. It’s certain Paul Dano has found at least one piece of the puzzle in combatting superhero fatigue, though it doesn’t appear to be the whole picture.
The Future of Robert Pattinson’s Batman Series
The first movie ended with Batman apprehending the Riddler, who has flooded Gotham City, though details about Part II are currently scarce. Matt Reeves is co-writing the script of the sequel with Mattson Tomlin.
The heads of DC Studios recently revealed that The Batman: Part II is set to hit theaters on October 2025. The first movie earned $770.8 million at the worldwide box office, a figure that makes it the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2022.
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