There have effectively been innumerable versions of Batman, both in the comics and in live-action and TV series depictions. While the character in itself has been utterly dark in quite a few of them, arguably none came closer to Ben Affleck and Zack Snyder’s version of the caped crusader, seen in the likes of Batman vs Superman, Justice League, and 2017’s Suicide Squad.
Of course, while Affleck’s violent and murder-loving iteration of Batman falls in line with the comics, it is also comprehensively different from the kind of Batman depictions that live-actions have traditionally seen. That appears to be down to Zack Snyder’s vision, as he explained in an interview how he sees the character of Bruce Wayne, and how his childhood trauma affects him as an adult.
Zack Snyder believes Bruce Wayne/Batman f**ks to forget!
While there have been plenty of fans who have talked ill about Snyder and Ben Affleck’s version of the character, the director himself believes there is no other way he should be depicted. During an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, Zack Snyder went into detail about how he believes Batman should look like, as an adult. He claimed that not only should Batman always be depicted as a ‘playboy,’ he should also have a range of other concerning traits:
I always say like, Batman f***s to forget, you know, Batman is a drunk for sure. Because he has huge trauma, right? And you wonder why he is a playboy, it’s because, anybody, f**k and forget is a common, that’s a real thing, that’s a way to way to deal with trauma.
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While the result was arguably the darkest live-action iteration of Batman, it also led to him taking painkillers, and a life that completely revolved around crime-fighting as a response to the kind of trauma he had to deal with, as a kid:
And I think there is that bit where he wakes up and there’s just painkillers on his bedside table, and he just pops them and drinks some wine, I am just like, to me, that’s like, that’s Batman. He’s got a maple thorp above the bed, he has got his glass house. And he is just like, he has an aesthetic that is like clean, but that’s all he does, that’s like his life.
Orphaned at a young age, Bruce Wayne is always haunted by the killers of his parents, which Snyder believes is bound to lead to a range of symptoms, as an adult as well.
What is next for the DCU’s Batman?
While the DCU has a number of projects in the pipeline, it currently appears as though a potential Robert Pattinson Batman II movie is still years away. Currently, projects such as Superman, The Authority, and another Supergirl movies are in the works. However, with Matt Reaves’ version of Batman in the 2022 movie, the DCU is set to keep Pattinson in the franchise for the time being.
That is in addition to the upcoming Joker 2, titled Folie à Deux, which gives Gunn a range of options to decide how the future looks like, with respect to his take on Batman. The success of the Joaquin Phoenix series puts a range of options on the table, and fans will hope Pattinson’s character eventually gets to face off against this version of the Joker.
However, for the time being, there are limited updates with respect to the DCU and Batman, and Gunn seems to be focused on the projects that have already been announced.
2022’s Batman is currently available to be watched on HBO Max, along with a range of other platforms.
