The hype surrounding Matt Reeves' The Batman continues to grow, especially after it was confirmed the upcoming film would be nearly three-hours long. Now, it has been reported that early test screenings at Warner Bros. Showed a four-hour cut of the film.
The Batman will focus heavily on a noir-driven, detective version of The Dark Knight, as the film will take place in Bruce Wayne's second year of fighting as he is forced to deal with corruption and tracking down a new enemy known as the Riddler. Reeves' film appears to be more faithful to the original comics, with an even grittier, more gothic Gotham City. In fact, Reeves addressed some of the biggest inspirations for his version of Batman, sharing that the character is inspired by Kurt Cobain and the '90s grunge scene, so fans can expect a much more sinister and tragic version of the caped crusader.
There has been much discourse about The Batman's theatrical runtime after it was announced. Now, according to a new edition of The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision newsletter, early test screenings of The Batman clocked in at four hours long. With the confirmed 175-minute theatrical runtime, it means that there is a whole other hour of Reeves' vision that fans will not be seeing.
Comparing the four-hour version of The Batman to recent feature films like Zack Snyder's Justice League, which clocked in at 242 minutes, makes it a little more bearable. Snyder corrected many of the wrongs in 2017's Justice League, which eventually led fans to have a greater appreciation for a director being able to follow his true artistic vision. While a film's runtime doesn't determine how well a story will be told, it would be interesting to see what that extra hour of The Batman would add to the theatrical cut.
What's even more surprising about Reeves' four-hour cut that was shown is that the film is the first in a trilogy, something, even in comic book films, that isn't seen too often. While Zack Snyder's Justice League and Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame both presented lengthy runtimes, those were films featuring numerous heroes and served as the culmination of many films that spanned several years.
With a four-cut ultimately unsuitable for studios to have as a theatrical release, even at 175 minutes, it's clear that Reeves' film will contain plenty of world-building and is looking to explore the character in Gotham City in greater depth. After all, two spin-off series focusing on The Penguin and the GCPD are in the works.
The Batman is set to release in theaters on March 4th, 2022.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter