The new trailer for The Batman has dropped and we’ve spotted 100 insane details that only hardcore DC fans would notice.
I’ll say right up top this is one of the best videos I’ve ever made and we’ve compiled a massive massive list of all of the details, references to other films and easter eggs to breakdown the best aspects of the new Batman trailer.
There may be some spoilers here as we will also be talking about some of the leaks so if you wanna go in as blind as a bat then I recommend you click away now. This is nothing plot ruining but it may spoil some of the surprises in the film which I don’t wanna do.
Music
Ok, so the trailer opens with the song Something In The Way by Nirvana. Typically in tv shows and films ,trailers are chosen for the importance of their lyrics which reflect what’s going on. The most recent example is the usage of Whitey’s on the moon which appeared in Lovecraft Country Episode 2 yesterday, however, this is a common occurrencee in film.
The Nirvana song too carries this motif and it has several lyrics which I think reflect the mindstatemind state of Batman and what’s happening. The song was written by Kurt Cobain and it details his time living under a bridge as a loner. In the film, Batman is, of course, a loner and at one point we can see that the Batcave is actually located under the bridge at an abandoned train station which we will talk about in just a bit.
The song also contains the lyrics the animals I’ve trapped, have become my pets. Batman’s rogue’s gallery is made up of a vast number of animals from Penguin, to Killer Croc, Firefly, The Scarecrow and many more. The character takes them to Arkham Asylum which is where they become trapped. Batman often visits them like animals in a zoo and though the link between the two is slightly tenuous, the song clearly has a number of metaphors and similarities that can be applied.
The Riddler’s Look
From here we cut to the Riddler taping up his first victim. The character is clearly based on design elements of the Zodiac. He wears a mask that has been put in place to obscure his face and glasses over the top. The make and model of these were actually found by Twitter account the Batsource and it is possible that the Riddler has bad eyesight which is why he needs to don the spectacles.
On top of the suit mask, we can see that he is clearly wearing a forensics suit as well. I have a theory that the villain may actually need this not only to stop any DNA from spreading to the crime scene but that he may also be using it as a disguise to disguise himself amongst the police. At one point in the trailer, we see several people in forensic suits and though neither of these is Paul Dano, the Riddler may be using the suit as a way to keep tabs on the police. How chilling would it be if he was actually there this whole time hiding amongst those brought in to investigate the crime?
There are also a lot of theories floating around that say The Riddler is an amalgamation of the villain Hush. This was a plot point in the animated film adaptation of the graphic novel, and though it wasn’t present in the original source material it could be a possibility.
In that Bruce was taunted by a villain that tied back to his past. Growing up he was close friends with Tommy Elliot and though they shared a lot of similarities, the character ended up going a different way, becoming the villain Hush.
Could it be that The Riddler is a childhood friend of Bruce that knows a lot about his past? Potentially. Remember that in the comics the Riddler actually figures out who Batman is and it could be that he’s been so close to the character that he is able to see through the facade that he puts on as Bruce Wayne, joining the dots over his identity.
This is hinted at by the final line in the trailer in which The Riddler tells Batman directly that he’s a part of it too.
Riddler’s First Victim
Now as for who this victim is, this is actually the Mayor of Gotham City.
This is also the character’s office which becomes a key location later in the trailer.
On the wall, there are several newspaper clippings for the character and though they fly by in a split second, there are a number of things that we can take from these. Now firstly we can confirm that the Mayor’s name is actually Don Mitchell Junior. This can be seen in one of the headlines which give his first name as Don and then the second which gives the title Mayor Mitchell Junior.
We can also see another headline discussing how Bella Real lost. Bella Real is played by Jayme Lawson and on IMDB is also listed as a Mayoral candidate.
With the Mayor dead this film could potentially open the door to having the Penguin run for the position. This is something that was present in the 1966 Earth One Graphic novel and Batman Returns. It definitely could be in place and there are theories that The Penguin has a gang which is terrorising the city so that he can come in and seem like a saviour when he stops them.
In another newspaper, we can see the headline, Seawall Construction Stalled. In the DC Fandome Panel Matt Reeves stated that the film was going to pull from movies like Chinatown which is actually based around the California Water Wars.
Batcave
When we jump to the Batcave later we can see that it is actually part of a Wayne Industry construction due to a sign that can be seen above the archway.
This could perhaps be the seawall that the headline was referring to as we already know that production was stalled on it and it would explain why the location looks so run down.
There are also other things that we can take from this. It was leaked last year that Batman will be using a Batcave that is actually built into the architecture of Gotham City itself and this seems to set this up.
It actually looks like it might be an abandoned train station and this would give the character access to several areas in Gotham at once. It would allow him to travel underground without being noticed and would also mean that he could pop up and disappear without drawing any attention to himself.
We can also see in the cave that there is the Batbike which was shown in scenes and had the…had the guy falling off his bike. I’m sorry I’m sorry.
You may also notice that the bike scene that we saw being filmed at a cemetery is present in this trailer too. The fact that we see Bruce riding in without his costume and we know that the Batsuit appeared here perhaps gives it away that this cemetery will actually be the location to the Batcave and a place where the character pops up time and time again.
“No More Lies”
Now jumping back from this tangent and going to where we were at the beginning, our cut after the newspaper headlines shows us the Mayor with tape over his face and the text “No More Lies.”
The character is sitting in the chair that was actually shown in Matt Reeves’ photo of the clapperboard which he posted on the first day of filming.
We hear the breathing of the Riddler over the top of the clip and though this is meant to show that the Riddler is actually at the location we can see that this scene is actually taking part in the police investigation due to the officer behind the body wearing a white shirt and black tie.
Silence of the Lambs References
In the next shot, we see Gordon walking through the crime scene. There are actually officers looking directly at the camera and in hindsight, we know that they are actually looking directly at Batman.
This is actually a reference to The Silence of the Lambs in which a similar shot is used when Clarice Starling enters a crime scene. In that, she was given funny eyes by the officers because she was a woman. Batman is clearly given funny eyes here because well…he’s a man dressed as a bat.
Both provided valuable insight into the case but I think the Silence of the Lambs references goes far beyond that. The next shot we cut to the mayor with a paper bag over his hand. I believe that this is signifying something very important.
Now the tape over his head is complete overkill and it has clearly been done for a reason. When one lies they are capable of doing so through either speech or by writing something. His mouth is taped up will stop the Mayor from lying anymore and his hand having a bag over it to me at least symbolises that he will no longer be able to write lies either.
However, the Silence of the Lambs references could go far beyond that. In the film, we discover the victims have moth cocoons stuffed down their throats, what if the reason that the Riddler taped up the victim is that they have something in their mouths.
The film is also said to be pulling from The Long Halloween significantly. In that graphic novel, the Calendar Man appears almost like a Hannibal Lecter-type villain and he provides valuable information on the case. It is even possible that the Calendar Man could be appearing in this film and the references to The Silence Of The Lambs are here for that reason.
James Gordon
We then cut to James Gordon and I have to say I think Jeffrey Wright looks absolutely perfect in the role. We hear the line “from your secret friend” and then “who?” Now though it is possible this is just the character saying this out loud, we actually see that this line is taken from what’s written on the front of the Riddlers clue. Here you can clearly see the words from your secret friend and then Who.
There are a number of things that we can take from this, firstly the card looks like a Halloween card. As the film is based on the Long Halloween it is possible that this is set during this time. There was also a set leak picture which showed several pumpkins dotted about an area.
Now if we jump ahead in the trailer there is a press conference that can be seen announcing the death of the Mayor. You may notice the stairs in the background, I’ve lined up the set leaks with them and they do look like they’re in the same location, confirming this as Halloween.
Court of Owls
The owl on the front could also be a reference to The Court of Owls. The big Batman villains in the graphic novel named after them.
The court was introduced in the New 52 and they are made up of Gotham’s Elite. They act as pretty much the Illuminati for the city, controlling things from behind the scenes. Through their assassins the Talons they silence anyone that stands up to them and they’re definitely the ones to look out for.
I actually have a theory that the Waynes may have been members of the court and that they were perhaps killed for this. Typically we don’t see them as corrupt however in the last five years or so, both the film Joker and the Batman telltale game have depicted them as shady figures within the city and it could be that they’re tied to the court.
I actually have a theory that the Riddler knew about this and may even suspect that their son Bruce has gone on to become a Talon. Perhaps he has confused Bruce with them and this would also explain why the arm guards that the character uses are similar to them.
I can see the film ending with Bruce finally defeating the Riddler and then he will reveal his mission which was to stop them. Villains are always more complicated when they are actually anti-heroes and it is possible that the films end could reveal to batman that he hasn’t really stopped the big bad that he thought and there is actually a lot more going on than he first suspect.
I would love to see a Court of Owls trilogy and it would be incredible if the end of the film revealed them all working away behind the scenes.
The Crime Scene
Anyway the card is then opened to reveal a coded message with symbols on. Once more this ties back to the Zodiac who used to send coded messages to the press announcing his killings.
Now shoutouts Andrew Lane for solving this and the Riddle actually says “what does a liar do when he’s dead?” with the answer being “he lies still.”
We then go to the forensic team who is taking photographs. You can actually see a headline that reads Maroni Drug Bust. In the comics, Maroni was actually the character that created Two-Face by throwing acid in Harvey Dent’s face during his trial. We do know that the DA dies in this film so it is possible that it opens the door for Dent to come in and take over the role, allowing for their fateful encounter to happen.
If you’ve been keeping up to date with the channel you may also remember that we reported on a character at the press conference. Here we can see that this was actually Maroni and side by side the two look identical.
Gordon then shows the clue envelope with the signature riddler green on it and Batman steps forward.
We then cut to commissioner Pete Savage played by…by Trevor from Eastenders…I know that’s not his real name but I’ll just never forgive him for what he did to Little Mo…she will have vengeance.
Mayor’s Press Conference
Next, we cut to the press conference and can see what looks like the Mayor’s widow to the right of Savage. She is crying and she actually shows up later in the trailer at one key point. When Batman is pulling the boy out of the way of the SUV we can also see her standing to the side screaming, she is clearly trying to save the boy herself and this could mean that he is in fact the son of the Mayor.
First Look at R-Batz
Cut to Batman peering over the crowd and to the right we can also see a number of News vans. You may remember that these were actually shown in set leaks for the film.
Can you believe we’re at detail 48 already? Anyway to the left we can also see Bruce removing his motorbike helmet, this scene was too shown in set leaks. You may notice around his mouth that he’s wearing a covering and this ties into the next shot of him further looking over what it is that’s going on.
He is also wearing guyliner under the helmet and this is the first time that Batman has actually removed it and it’s been present. We all know that the eyes are blacked up normally, however movie magic is often put in the way to remove it so I’m glad that it’s been left behind for this.
Mayor’s Funeral
We then see the funeral scene itself which was filmed at the Cardington Sheds.
Now there are several notable things to take from this, firstly the SUV looks like it has DOA written all over it. This obviously means Dead on Arrival.
However, if you look closely it also has the words DA written on one of the windows.
DOA is of course a play on DA the district attorney who in this film is Gil Colson played by Peter Sarsgaard. If you look closely you can actually see it’s him under the tape. Also is it just me or whenever you hear the name Gil Colson do you think it’s DC doing a sly jab on Phil Coulson from Marvel. Probably just me.
Sarsgaard has already hinted at his character not being around for very long and he likely knew his death was going to be in the first trailer so I doubt Warner Bros had any problem with him spoiling it.
Also, you can see his head coming off when he explodes, yikes.
This is a reference to the real-life case of Brian Wells. I can’t go too far into it because of monetisation on YouTube but if you watch the Netflix documentary you’ll find more about it there. Definitely check that out trust me.
Catwoman
Next, we can see Catwoman sliding down a rope into a crime scene.
This is obviously the mayor’s office from the start of the trailer, however, if you need further confirmation, when she and Batman fight one another we can actually see the chair from the beginning which the character is using to lean against.
Catwoman is breaking into the mayor’s safe and this is likely to get a ledger of names. In the Long Halloween Catwoman too did this to Falcone and Batman confronted her in his penthouse. It looks like this might actually be the first time that the two meet and it’s a brilliant way to introduce her.
Also on the back of her head, we can see that her balaclava forms what looks to be cat ears.
Penguin
We then go to the Gotham Docks, namely Gotham Sanitation and see a mob meeting.
In mobster terms, sanitation is often referred to as the cleaning up of bodies and it looks like this could be the base for the Penguin.
Speaking of the Penguin, Colin Farrell looks absolutely unrecognisable as the character. The prosthetics work is incredible and I can’t wait to see his performance.
The character also has a large scar under his face, showing that he himself has been through a lot of battles.
However, as we know the Penguin too uses a lot of goons to do his dirty work.
This is shown by his gang in the trailer. Now I have seen these mistakingly labelled as the Joker’s gang, however in Batman Returns the Penguin too used clown-like villains and in Arkham City,they also donned black and white face paint. Thus this is likely his forces and not the Jokers.
Later we see Batman beat up one of these thugs and the group stands around completely horrified.
There’s even this guy who cries (what’s the matter, gonna cry now)?
Sons of Batman
I think that this is setting up the Sons Of Batman. In the graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns there is a gang in Gotham called the mutants. Predominantly this is made up of young teenagers who have been influenced into a life of crime by the Gotham Leader. However, Batman publicly beats the crap out of him in front of all his goons and they decide to become a group known as the sons of Batman who fight for justice in the city.
Explosion
We then see the Batsuit in red lighting, this is the same lighting that was used in the initial batsuit reveal. It is possible that this actually shows the destruction of the suit itself.
In the funeral scene, we can see that Batman gets blown backwards by the explosion of Gil Colson.
There’s also a little bomb disposal droid there that you can see…is it a droid?
Anyway, this clearly damages the suit and we did have leaked back in February that pretty much detailed this scene and said that because of it Batman would have to make a new suit.
I Am Vengeance
We then see Batman beat up the thugs and when they ask who he is he says he’s vengeance. This is actually a call back to the graphic novel Earth One in which the character introduces himself in the exact same way.
Insiders contacted us a while back and told us that the film would pull heavily from the first two volumes of the run.
You might remember that fans were in an uproar over Robert Pattinson saying that Batman was not a hero, however, this quote was actually present on the back of the book itself which ties the two properties together.
The phrase I’m vengeance is also a reference to Batman the animated series in which he says “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman.”
I would love to see this phrase peppered throughout the film every time someone asks who he is with the final answer being I am Batman.
Batmobile
We then see the Batmobile burner on the back and it looks like the character is chasing the Penguin, potentially after his appearance at the docks.
We do see the character actually firing at a car and it looks like the one that pulled up at the meeting at the sanitation plant earlier.
Fight Scenes
Batman and Catwoman then fight in the Mayor’s office and I genuinely do think this is their first meeting.
Catwoman can later be seen riding on a motorbike and this is likely the same scene that we saw that stuntman…fall over…ooo fell over…you did mate.
There’s also a very interesting moment in which Batman is grappling up some stairs whilst clearly being fired at by policemen.
This likely is a follow-on from the scene in which Batman is fighting a policeman.
Plot Theory
I believe that Batman is gonna get framed by the Riddler in the movie and that this will escalate into the police trying to hunt him down. Batman has always had a very strained relationship with the police and on the whole, he tends just to work with Gordon. Perhaps this will blow over and he will be forced to remain in the shadows, only meeting with Gordon to discuss police matters instead of being out in the open.
Few Little Things to Note
We then get some montages and you can actually see the Riddler question mark in the logo for the film. The ears on the A also form bat ears and this is a really nice touch in my opinion.
The trailer closes with Batman in the cave and this is where we hear the Riddler taunting him.
This ties back to our Waynes and Court of Owls theory and I definitely think it holds a lot of weight.
On a monitor, we can also see what looks like Bella Real. I think that this is possibly her campaign ad in which she promises a better Gotham.
We can also see the words GC so it looks like this may be a news report.
Either it’s announcing her as the new mayor of Gotham or perhaps Riddler has marked her as a target. I really don’t know yet but what an incredible trailer to promote the movie with.
Your Thoughts
Anyway, that’s our entire breakdown and I hope you enjoyed it. I’m sure you can guess that a tonne of work went into this so if you enjoyed it please share it…maybe if you put the caption as best batman breakdown ever more people will watch it…yeah I’d appreciate that!
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