With production on The Batman underway in the UK, fans are eagerly awaiting their first look at Robert Pattinson in the Batsuit. Now seems like the perfect time, then, to take a trip into the past and see what could have been with the previous cinematic depiction of the Dark Knight, as played by Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder’s cult favorite Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
As fans know, Batfleck was notable for his bulky, grey costume, heavily inspired by Frank Miller’s version of the hero in The Dark Knight Returns. Before this was settled on, however, a completely different look was considered. Concept artist Jerad Marantz shared his alternate design for the BvS Batman on Instagram, labelling it as a “very early exploration” for how the character could be portrayed in the movie.
As you can see, Marantz’s idea for Bats was to give him a much more heavily-armored, very metallic appearance that, while still making Bruce Wayne look like someone you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley (if you were a criminal), gives him a sleeker feel than the Batfleck we ended up with. The most interesting feature, though, is that Marantz wanted to give the character his classic comic book-accurate white eyes.
Fast forward to today, though, and Affleck has said goodbye to the role, leaving Matt Reeves to hire Pattinson for his fresh take on Gotham’s savior. So what will the Battinson suit end up like? Well, there’s been talk in the past of Reeves finally utilizing white eyes, which would make sense given the technological advancements made with Spider-Man and Deadpool’s own white lenses over at Marvel and Fox. But it’s too early to say for sure at this time.
Of course, Robert Pattinson has been glimpsed on set already, but not in the cape and cowl. Give it time, though, and the Batman will be revealed.