There's a new Batman in Gotham City, but if this latest leak is correct, 2021's The Batman could have a lot in common with arguably the best DC Comics movie of all time.
According to a report on Production List, The Batman will resume shooting on July 6 in Chicago. The Robert Pattinson reboot was previously filming in England (presumably for some spooky Arkham Asylum scenes) before the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to production. (Production List is a membership site that helps TV and film-makers find work on upcoming projects, and the Batman listing was reshared on Reddit's DCEU leaks community with the caveat that PL is not always reliable).
That's big news for anyone worried The Batman might not hit its October 2021 release date after the film was already delayed from its initial June 25 premiere. However, it's even bigger news for fans of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, particularly the critically acclaimed second film, The Dark Knight.
While Gotham is a fictional city, it's sometimes considered to be the DC universe's stand-in for New York. (Some DC stories actually take place in NYC, but in the early days of Batman comics, the two cities were one and the same.) However, in The Dark Knight, Nolan flipped that convention by filming primarily in Chicago, which gave the movie its distinct look.
The Dark Knight Rises returned to NYC (it also shot in London and Pittsburgh) to facilitate Bane's attack on the moneyed elite as symbolized by Wall Street — the similarities with Occupy Wall Street were apparently just an unfortunate coincidence. Rises had its moments, but there are few Batman fans who would argue it's anywhere near as good as its predecessor, The Dark Knight.
That The Batman will also be shot in Chicago (at least partially) is good news for anyone hoping for a return to the style and tone of The Dark Knight. And that production could resume in just a few weeks is great news for anyone eagerly anticipating director Matt Reeves' vision for the Caped Crusader and Robert Pattinson's performance as the world's greatest detective.
There's a lot we still don't know about The Batman, but with a stellar cast and a rogues' gallery of villains (Catwoman, Riddler, Penguin and mob boss Carmine Falcone are all confirmed), this is shaping up to be a pretty exciting movie. The possibility that it could feature the same backdrop as the best Batman movie ever is just one more reason we can barely wait for its release.
The Batman swoops into theaters on October 1, 2021.
