‘The Batman,’ ‘Justice League’ Trailers Drop at DC FanDome

After a packed day of reveals at the new online convention DC FanDome, Warner Bros. unveiled the main event: The Batman.

Though director Matt Reeves had filmed just about 25-30 percent of the film before COVID-19 shut it down in March, he brought the first teaser trailer, which showed off his ’70s-inspired thriller starring Robert Pattinson as the World’s Greatest Detective.

We’re in year two,” Reeves said of where Batman is in his career. “He’s trying to figure out what he can do to change this place.”

The Batman also stars Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, John Turturro as crime boss Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred and Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham City DA Gil Colson. Though this film is not an origin story for Batman, it is in some ways an origin story for his Rogues Gallery, Reeves noted.

“Selena (Kravitz) isn’t Catwoman yet. That’s part of the journey. Oz (Farrell) is not the kingpin he will become … and The Riddler is just emerging for the first time,” said Reeves.

The Batman has an October 1, 2021 release date.

(Watch the teaser trailer.)

Here’s what happened earlier at FanDome:

ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE

Zack Snyder shared the first trailer for his cut of Justice League, which will debut on HBO Max next year. He revealed Zack Snyder’s Justice Leauge will air in four, one-hour increments, and then be bundled together to watch in one sitting. The filmmaker said that he is exploring how to deliver his cut to international territories, where HBO Max is not available.

Much of the filmmaker’s cast made video appearances, including Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher, who in recent weeks has voiced his displeasure over conditions on the set of Justice League following Snyder’s 2017 departure from the film, which was taken over by Joss Whedon. Snyder assured fans that Fisher’s hero Cyborg will be a more integral part of his cut of the story.

Snyder also teased audiences will see “tons more” of Miller’s The Flash, saying there will be “a little bit more of his emotional arc.”

Snyder also noted there will be an unexpected moment involving The Flash’s powers.

“You’re going to see something with Flash in this film I don’t think you’ve seen before,” Snyder said. “He’s a quantum character. He interacts with time and space.”

(Watch the trailer here.)

Snyder stepped away from directing Justice League in May 2017 following a family tragedy, and Whedon stepped in to oversee reshoots and direct. After a muted response to the film, fans began asking for a Snyder Cut to be released, and after months of campaigning, they got the news they’d been hoping to when Snyder announced in May that his version would be coming out.

Here’s a look at the other projects touted during DC FanDome.

AQUAMAN 2

Filmmaker James Wan and star Patrick Wilson shared a few teases about the sequel, which is due out in 2022, and also has a horror-tinged spinoff The Trench in the works.

Wan promised to explore “new worlds” in the sequel, which will once again star Jason Momoa.

“The second one is a little bit more serious, a little bit more relevant in the world we are living in today. That’s where it wants to go,” said Wan.

BLACK ADAM

Dwayne Johnson pulled back the curtain of Black Adam, in which he stars as the 5,000-year-old villain whose film is due out in December 2021.

“I can promise you this, I give you my word. We are going to go beyond your wildest expectations,” said Johnson, who confirmed the film includes Justice Society of America characters Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher (played by Noah Centineo, who made an appearance.)

“The superheroes have to exhibit a little bit of restraint when it comes to taking care of the bad guys,” said Johnson. “This idea that you could take all of Black Adam’s powers and he does not practice restraint, that makes for a really powerful combination, and one that’s explosive, one that’s very dangerous, and one that is ultimately very likable.”

Johnson suggested that Black Adam, who is known as a Shazam! antagonist, has ambitions to interact with other DC heroes, with the actor name dropping Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and more.

Said Johnson: “The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change.”

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THE FLASH

Saturday morning, The Flash star Miller was joined by director Andy Muschietti, screenwriter Christina Hodson and producer Barbara Muschietti to tease the 2022 film, which will be key to the future of the DC films.

It will explore the concept of the multiverse, which is how Batman actors such as Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck (both of whom are in the movie) can exist in their own continuities separate from that of Robert Pattinson’s upcoming take in The Batman.

“If you look around at the DC universe, we all of these characters who exist within their own bubbles. We even have multiple iterations of the same story,” said Miller.  “This movie, by opening the door that Flashpoint did in the comics, lets all of these stories and characters start to collide.”

The film will deal with time travel, with Allen attempting to right the wrongs of his past, which saw his mother murdered and his father jailed.

“He is someone who has the power to change the events of the past, but by doing so, can deteriorate the fabric of the space-time continuum,” said Andy Muschietti. The filmmaker also revealed the first concept art for the film, which showed a new suit built by Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne built Barry’s new suit in the upcoming #TheFlash movie pic.twitter.com/YgY6381JHf

— Aaron Couch (@AaronCouch) August 22, 2020

In a separate panel, DC film boss Walter Hamada spoke about the multiverse, noting that one universe features a Justice Leauge made up of the characters seen in the 2017 movie, while there is another universe with Pattinson’s Batman, who is in his second year as the hero.“It just opens doors to us in a way that you couldn’t have if you just had a singular universe,” Hamada said.

It’s a stark contrast to Disney-owned Marvel Studios, which has one, meticulously curated Marvel Cinematic Universe.

THE SUICIDE SQUAD

Saturday afternoon, The Suicide Squad filmmaker James Gunn, who is deep in post-production, revealed a behind-the-scenes sizzle reel with the first look at the cast in action.

“The studio is overwhelmingly happy with the movie. The action is great. It’s funny, and it’s really dramatic in the right places,” Gunn told his cast of the Warner Bros. film, which is due out Aug. 6, 2021.

He also revealed who the sprawling cast was playing: Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flagg), Michael Rooker (Savant), Flula Borg (Javelin) Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), David Dastmalchian (Polka-Dot Man), Daniela Melchior (Ratcatcher2), Idris Elba (Bloodsport), Steve Agee (on-set Kingshark and John Economos), Mayling Ng (Mongal), Sean Gunn (Weasel), Pete Davidson (Blackguard), John Cena (Peacemaker, who the actor described as a “douchey Captian America.”), Peter Capaldi (The Tinkerer), Juan Diego Botto (Presidente General Silvio Luna), Joaquín Cosío (Mayor General Mateo Suarez), Jenn Holland (Emilia Harcourt), Storm Reid (Tyla), Alice Braga (SolSoria), Nathan Fillion (T.D.K.) and Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang).

(Watch the clip here.)

SHAZAM 2

Zachary Levi brought together director David F. Sandberg and stars Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Meagan Good, Faithe Herman for a panel that had one reveal: the title.

The film will be called Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

WONDER WOMAN 1984

Earlier, a new trailer (watch here) for Wonder Woman 1984 kicked off Saturday’s DC FanDome. Wonder Woman 1984 was delayed amid the coronavirus pandemic and is now due out Oct. 2. And while some tentpoles, such as Disney’s Mulan, are bypassing cinemas, director Patty Jenkins noted that the Wonder Woman team is committed to the theatrical experience for the film.

“We are going to stick it out. We believe in putting it in the cinema,” said Jenkins, who was joined by stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig.

Pine, whose World War I-era hero Steve Trevor somehow ends up in the 1980s for this film, noted that being a fish out of water was a fun acting exercise.

“It was a good lesson for me as a human being to remind myself to open up and not be so cool, not be so over everything,” said Pine. “My job is to be in love with Gal, which is not a hard gig.”

TV’s original Wonder Woman, Linda Carter, surprised the team with an appearance. A misty-eyed Carter recalled that when her daughter first saw a photo of Gadot in character, she remarked now she finally understood why Carter and the character were so revered.

“You are a true-life Wonder Woman,” Gadot told her. “I cannot be more grateful to have your guidance and to be able to call you mama bear.”

DC FanDome panels can only be viewed on its website. This post will be updated throughout Saturday with the latest from the film panels, which include The Batman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League cut, Black Adam, Shazam! and Aquaman.