Andy Serkis Teases The Batman’s Darker Take on the Caped Crusader

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Andy Serkis Teases a Darker Take on the Caped Crusader in The Batman

In a recent interview with LADBible, Andy Serkis commented on Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman, in which he plays Alfred Pennyworth, the Caped Crusader’s truly butler. Obviously, the actor, who is currently neck deep in production on Venom: Let There Be Carnage, couldn’t reveal too much, but he did reveal a much darker take on everyone’s favorite pointy-eared hero.

“I would say that’s not far from the truth,” he said when asked if we could expect a darker, broodier Batman. “It’s very much about the emotional connection between Alfred and Bruce. That’s really at the centre of it. And it is a really exquisite script that Matt has written.”

He then turned his focus on Alfred and explained how he’s not looking at past performances, specifically Michael Caine, as a means to craft his own take.

“He [Michael Caine] was fantastic. His Alfred was legendary, I couldn’t even begin to go there, really.”

“You find it for yourself,” Serkis continued. “It’s like playing these iconic roles in Shakespeare, you go back, you revisit them and you have to make it your own, and see what it is about he character that connects with you and your personal venn diagram.”

Finally, Serkis revealed that he was halfway through shooting his role when the film was forced to halt production due to the coronavirus.

“I was literally half way through shooting my part in it when we got shut down. So it will be interesting to see when that resurfaces how it has been affected by it [lockdown]. But it is, it’s going to be a beautiful film.”

Starring alongside Robert Pattinson’s Batman/Bruce Wayne is Zoë Kravitz (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Mad Max: Fury Road) as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano (Love & Mercy, 12 Years a Slave) as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright (the Hunger Games films) as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro (the Transformers films) as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard (The Magnificent Seven, Black Mass) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Jayme Lawson (Farewell Amor) as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis (the Planet of the Apes films, Black Panther) as Alfred; and Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Dumbo) as Oswald Cobblepot. Twins Max and Charlie Carver have also joined the movie in “sizable roles.”

Plot details are still being kept under wraps but The Batman is reportedly set to explore the Dark Knight’s younger years with Reeves further hinting at the film’s connection to the iconic comic book story arc “Year One” by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli which was published in 1987.

Reeves and Dylan Clark (the Planet of the Apes films) are producing the film, with Simon Emanuel, Michael E. Uslan, Walter Hamada and Chantal Nong Vo serving as executive producers.

The Batman opens in theaters on October 1, 2021.