Andy Serkis Reveals Interesting Nuggets About The Batman

Bryan Abrams
May 11, 2020

Like every other major production, filming on Matt Reeves‘ hotly-anticipated The Batman was suspended in mid-March.  Reeves and his talented cast and crew had begun production in London and had filmed around 25% of the total feature before production had to be shut down due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Batman is now slated for an October 1, 2020 release date—which we argued was the perfect time to unleash the new Batman on the world. While we wait to fully flatten the COVID-19 curve and for productions to start up again, Andy Serski, who plays Alfred Pennyworth in Reeves’s upcoming reboot, shared a few intriguing new details about the film.

Serkis was speaking to LADbible and he told writer Dominic Smithers that, per Reeves hints the script he’s written is a noir detective story (rather than an origin story), his reboot will be “darker” than previous Batman films. While Serkis was careful not to spill too many narrative beans, he did concede that The Batman will be “darker, broodier” than its predecessors. That’s saying something considering Christopher Nolan’s beloved Dark Knight trilogy wasn’t exactly a sunny walk in the park, and Ben Affleck’s embodiment of Bruce Wayne in both Batman v Superman and Justice League was reliably brooding. Yet Serkis says what Reeves and his star, Robert Pattinson, are going for is darker. He also says Alfred’s relationship with Bruce Wayne is an important piece of the puzzle:

“It’s very much about the emotional connection between Alfred and Bruce,” Serkis told LADbible. “That’s really at the center of it. And it is a really exquisite script that Matt has written.”

Pattinson isn’t the only one stepping into a role with big shoes to fill. The two men who played Alfred previously are British acting legends—Jeremy Irons in Justice League and Batman v Superman, and Michael Caine in Nolan’s trilogy. Speaking of Caine, Serkis said “He was fantastic. His Alfred was legendary. I couldn’t even begin to go there, really. You find it for yourself. It’s like playing these iconic roles in Shakespeare, you go back, you revisit them and you have to make it your own, and see what is about the character that connects with you and your personal Venn diagram.”

When discussing going back to filming, whenever that can be, Serkis said “It’s going to be a beautiful film. I for one can’t wait to see where they take the story. But for now, we’ll have to settle with the very little footage that we have.”

Here’s the official synopsis from Warner Bros.:

Principal photography has begun (editorial note: and was suspended, of course) on Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Batman.” Director Matt Reeves (the “Planet of the Apes” films) is at the helm, with Robert Pattinson (upcoming “Tenet,” “The Lighthouse,” “Good Time”) starring as Gotham City’s vigilante detective, Batman, and billionaire Bruce Wayne.

Starring alongside Pattinson as Gotham’s famous and infamous cast of characters are Zoë Kravitz (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”) as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano (“Love & Mercy,” “12 Years a Slave”) as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright (the “Hunger Games” films) as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro (the “Transformers” films) as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard (“The Magnificent Seven,” “Black Mass”) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Jayme Lawson (“Farewell Amor”) as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis (the “Planet of the Apes” films, “Black Panther”) as Alfred; and Colin Farrell (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Dumbo”) as Oswald Cobblepot.

Featured image: An image from writer/director Matt Reeves ‘The Batman.’ Courtesy Reeves/Warner Bros.

This article was first published here.