The Batman Has Two Alternate Cuts, Which One Will Warner Bros. Choose?

The Batman is now in its final stages of production as it nears its March 2022 release. The DC Fandome trailer of the film gave us a nice, detailed glimpse of the uniquely constructed and noir-style designed Batman origin the film could offer the audience. The film seems to be a major thesis on Bruce Wayne’s mental and psychological conflict over his form of vigilante justice as he tries to figure a way to end Riddler’s enigmatic schemes that terrorize the city. But, looks like Warner Bros. is yet to decide on the completion of the film as it is reportedly testing two different cuts of Matt Reeves’ first Batman film of his planned trilogy.

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The recent report, coming from The Hollywood Reporter’s newsletter, Heat Vision, says that Warner Bros. has conducted a final test screening last week with two different cuts of The Batman. The studio now has made a final call, however, it’s not confirmed what cut the executives have greenlit for the final theatrical release. And the reason for this continuous delay in making the final decision is the appearance of a certain actor, which the studio and makers of the film are skeptical to include in the final film.

The Batman has revealed all of its characters in the recent trailer. Though we haven’t gotten any real close-up shot of Paul Dano’s Riddler, we have a basic premise in line for the film and it definitely establishes a more comprehensive, interconnected, broader Batverse with characters such as Selina Kyle and Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin appearing in the first installment itself. The noir-theme film will follow a relatively inexperienced Bruce Wayne, who’d be taking a long hard look at his methods to fight crime in Gotham, and will probably shape him into the Batman we know from the comics throughout the run time of the film.

But there’s still one role in question, which has undergone speculations and theories, which probably could be the reason for the studio to get skeptical and indecisive on the final cut.

Amidst the stellar cast, the film has Barry Keoghan, who rose to fame in Marvel Studios’ Eternals, playing Officer Stanley Merkel, a Gotham City Police Officer partnered with James Gordon. But, after the first screening of the film, speculations rose that Keoghan is secretly playing the iconic DC villain, Batman’s archnemesis, The Joker. And now that the studio is getting indecisive about keeping a secret character appearance in the film, this theory has received some extra fuel in the DC fandom.

The Batman is setting up a whole new world surrounding the character, which Matt Reeves has promised to be distinct from the previous ones we’ve seen. In that path, a lot of references and character appearances may cross over into the film, setting up the future of this fresh The Batman film series. So, it’s pretty logical to give a long thought on which characters should make into those references and which shouldn’t.

While there are no actual confirmed reports to evidently support rumors on Keoghan’s secret role, if true, it shall really gasp out the audience. Whether Warner Bros. would decide to intrigue the audience into the future of the series or would leave us in ambiguity would play a major role in the final cut of the film.

The Batman will release only in theaters on March 4, 2022. Directed by Matt Reeves, the film stars, Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffery Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Jayme Lawson, Barry Keoghan, with Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell.

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Abhishek Sharma
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