“The Batman” Drops the Mask in Terrific New Japanese Trailer

A juicy new Japanese trailer for writer/director Matt Reeves’ The Batman gives us some new footage and a great final moment. This new trailer is much more tightly focused on the central battle within the film between Batman (Robert Pattinson) and his sociopathic nemesis the Riddler (Paul Dano), whose killing spree through Gotham seems designed to unmask Batman once and for all. This deeply personal tet-a-tet between the emotionally wounded, physically overextended Bruce Wayne and the gleefully sadistic Edward Nashton (the Riddler’s given name) is reminiscent of the greatest superhero power struggle of all, Batman v Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. But Reeves has promised a different kind of Batman movie, one more committed to the idea of Batman as a vigilante detective, and his The Batman is built more like a noir film than the typical superhero movie. It’s an exciting premise. The cast seem game and thus far, the look of The Batman is quite different from Nolan’s celebrated trilogy.

The new trailer shows the lengths the Riddler will go to get Batman’s attention, including killing anybody, leaving Bruce clues and ruddles (including photos of Bruce with his eyes scratched out), crashing a funeral (literally), and more. The trailer’s big capper is what appears to be a scene in which Batman has finally captured the Riddler and unmasks himself before his enemy at the start of an interrogation. We’re guessing this will play a lot different once we see the film, and there will be a compelling reason why Batman reveals his face to the most dangerous man in Gotham. Perhaps the Riddler can’t really see him—every glimpse we’ve had of him, he’s been wearing glasses atop a creepy mask. Or, perhaps Bruce is showing his face because he doesn’t plan to let the Riddler live long enough to tell anyone?

Check out the new trailer below. Joining Pattison and Dano are Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred, and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon. The Batman swoops into theaters on March 4, 2022.

For more on The Batman, check out these stories:

Colin Farrell Will Star in “The Batman” HBO Max Spinoff Series About The Penguin

“The Batman” Official Synopsis Hints at a Desperate Vigilante

“The Batman” TV Spot Pits the Dark Knight Against The Riddler

“The Batman” Behind-the-Scenes Featurette Promises Radically Different Dark Knight

“The Batman” Trailer Reveals Robert Pattison’s Dark Knight

Featured image: Caption: ROBERT PATTINSON as Batman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “THE BATMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/ ™ & © DC Comics