The runtime for Robert Pattinson's The Batman has seemingly leaked – and it's set to be the longest Batman movie ever made.
Superhero stories are built for epic lengths. Look at the three-hour Avengers: Endgame, or Zack Snyder's butt-numbing Justice League cut, running at four hours, or Watchmen, which managed to condense its complex tome into two-and-a-half hours.
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Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy shepherded in 'prestige' comic book movies with escalating runtimes; by the time The Dark Knight Rises came out, it was 15 minutes shy of three hours. We're less than two months away from The Batman – and it seems we should prepare our bladders.
Matt Reeves' upcoming take on the Caped Crusader has been one of this year's most anticipated movies ever since the first trailer. Pattinson was an unexpected pick for the hero, but the naysayers have been silenced with clips of him pummelling goons, marching down a hail of bullets and flying through fire in his Batmobile.
While it's yet to be officially confirmed by Warner Bros., IMAX Melbourne's listing for The Batman has its runtime at 176 minutes, just four minutes shy of three hours. This would rank it among the longest superhero movies of all time, and the longest standalone Batman movie, if we're discounting Snyder's Ultimate Cut of Batman v. Superman.
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The movie will follow Bruce Wayne (Pattinson) after 'two years of stalking the streets... striking fear into the hearts of criminals. With only a few trusted allies – Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) – amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens', the official synopsis reads.
When The Riddler (Paul Dano) begins targeting 'Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations', cryptic clues see Batman encounter the likes of Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) and The Penguin (Colin Farrell).
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'As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City,' it adds.
Past trailers seemed to hint the film may have also been the first to receive an R-rating, but the MPAA recently gave it a PG-13 for 'strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material'. It's likely it'll be rated 12A in the UK.
The Batman hits cinemas on March 4, 2022.
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Topics: Entertainment, Batman, Robert Pattinson
Cameron Frew