The Batman: Part II set photos may look like they are giving away some of the sequel’s biggest secrets, but Matt Reeves has already taught fans not to take everything they see on set at face value.
Production on the highly anticipated sequel is now underway across the United Kingdom, with Reeves back behind the camera and Robert Pattinson returning as Gotham City’s Caped Crusader.
They’re About To Play in Your Face
Set Photos leaking from a highly anticipated film while filming on location has become a tradition by now, serving as a suitable appetizer for the teasers and trailers to come. Of course, this can lead to a lot of issues for productions looking to keep a lot of details around their films under lock and key. Plenty of high-profile films have run into this issue, even movies like Avengers: Endgame and another Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. Matt Reeves came prepared when he boarded The Batman, and fans fell right into his traps.
Like its sequel, production for The Batman was kept under a watchful eye by fans who were eager to get a look into Reeve’s take on Gotham and the Batman mythos. Reeve’s was ready for that and planned a slurry of misdirects and went as far as to film fake scenes for the film with other actors as to throw internet sleuths and set stalkers off their scent.
One of the first photos to drop from set back in 2020 was from on-location filming featuring extras dressed for scenes set during Halloween night in Gotham City. Fans slightly lost it when extras appeared on set wearing Superman and Wonder Woman costumes, hinting at the potential of other characters existing in this new world. This would not end up being the case, and those extras were never visible in the film at all. No comment was ever made by Reeves, and if they were anything serious, they would’ve been covered throughout the set. It’s likely the two extras were placed on set to drive the conversation on the film in a completely different direction to distract fans.
Fake Outs
More set photos would follow that would feature actual talent from the film in fake scenes shot to protect secrets for the film. The most effective misdirect was centered around Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle, appearing alongside Carmine Falcone in set photos at the funeral of the mayor, but to the surprise of many fans, it’s not who is revealed to be alongside Falcone in the film.
In the film, it’s also used as a misdirect for Bruce Wayne himself, thinking he too had spotted Selena Kyle as the audience had. It makes for a much more surprising twist. It acts as a reveal to fans and nod from Reeves that he may be one step ahead of audiences.
More set photos made their rounds and featured Barry Keoghan dressed as a Gotham City police officer, with the actor listed as playing Officer Stanley Merkel. Keoghan’s casting came out of nowhere as he began appearing on cast lists with no word on who he was playing. The rumors swirled that this wasn’t the case, and that Keoghan was actually playing the Joker. We now know this to be the case, with Reeve’s confirming that he intentionally shot fake scenes to throw everyone off and keep the true role a secret. Ultimately, he was no match for Keoghan’s brother, confirming the casting via Facebook way ahead of the film’s release.
Is History Repeating Itself?
It feels like a rush of deja vu, like I’ve seen this film before, like someone was up to their old tricks. Production on The Batman: Part 2 has made its way outdoors yet again, and smack into the public eye. With a handful of prominent cast members on set today, they were not the ones getting the most attention.
Set photos and videos revealed a protest bordering on a riot outside of the Gotham courthouse, with many protestors holding an array of signs, with two catching fans eyes immediately, feeding into some long-gestating rumours. In the mass, two protesters could be seen holding signs reading “Court of Fouls” and “Court of Oligarchs,” causing the usual rush to excitement and jumping the gun. These signs in these set photos directly feed into the rumors of the Court of Owls playing a major role in the sequel.
In a similar fashion to the photos of extras as Superman and Wonder Woman, these set photos potentially hint at the Batman villain, Anarky making an appearance in the film. Multiple extras were spotted on set wearing white masks and jackets adorned with the Anarchist A.
Believe The Hype?
This isn’t an attempt to entirely put out flames and fan theories but more a slight nudge to temper expectations. It’s exciting to see these things potentially happen in such a highly anticipated sequel, but as fans its important to adapt and be a lot smarter about these things, especially when we know how Matt Reeve’s operates. All of this could totally be legit and happening, or it isn’t.
A lot of people have grown accustomed and familiar with the way DC Studio’s co-CEO James Gunn operates, especially with his very specifically used wording. This should be a similar situation, these folks know their fans well and know how to get around them and keep things under lock and key.
