The Batman 

is a 2022 American superhero film based on the DC

Comics character Batman. Produced by DC Films, 6th & Idaho, and Dylan Clark
Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of
the Batman film franchise. The film was directed by Matt Reeves, who wrote the
screenplay with Peter Craig. It stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman
alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter
Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. The film sees Batman, who has been
fighting crime in Gotham City for two years, uncover corruption while pursuing
the Riddler (Dano), a serial killer who targets Gotham's elite.

Development began after Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in the DC Extended

Universe (DCEU) in 2013. Affleck signed on to direct, produce, co-write, and star
in The Batman, but had reservations about the project and dropped out. Reeves
took over and reworked the story, removing the DCEU connections. He sought to
explore Batman's detective side more than previous films, drawing inspiration from
the films of Alfred Hitchcock and the New Hollywood era, and comics such as Year
One (1987), The Long Halloween (1996–97), and Ego (2000). Pattinson was cast in
May 2019, with further casting in late 2019. Filming began in the United Kingdom in
January 2020, but was halted in March by the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed later
in the year and concluded in Chicago in March 2021.

After the COVID-19 pandemic caused two delays to its original June 2021 release
date, The Batman premiered at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan on March 1, 2022,
and was theatrically released worldwide on March 4. The film was a commercial
success, and grossed over $770 million against a $185–200 million budget, making
it the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2022. It received positive reviews from critics,
with praise for the performances, score, cinematography, Reeves' direction, action
sequences, and story, although the runtime received some criticism. The Batman is
intended to launch a Batman shared universe, with two sequels planned and two
spin-off television series in development for HBO Max.