For the better part of a year, there have been rumors that The Batman will be boasting a seriously long runtime when the Matt Reeves-directed film starring Robert Pattinson hits theaters in March. Well, now, we know the final number, and it’s official: The Batman is long. Clocking in at two hours and 55 minutes, The Batman will be the longest solo Batman movie (Batman V Superman and Justice League don’t count), and the second-longest theatrical superhero movie ever behind Avengers: Endgame, which beats the Pattinson film by a mere six minutes.
The upcoming movie, which flies into theaters on March 4, centers on Bruce Wayne’s earlier days of fighting crime. The film is full of Batman’s rogues gallery, so it is bound to be complex. Paul Dano plays The Riddler, a serial killer pursued by Batman. Zoë Kravitz plays Catwoman and Colin Farrell appears as the Penguin.
There’s bound to be discussion about releasing a movie this long in the middle of a pandemic, particularly after Spider-Man: No Way Home demonstrated that moviegoers will flock to the theaters for massive superhero tentpoles. (In Warner Bros.’ defense, The Batman will start streaming on HBO Max after just 45 days.) However, there has been talk of The Batman being delayed because of the surge in COVID cases. While WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar recently told Puck News that the studio feels “good” about the film’s March 4 release date, he did confirm that they are “certainly paying attention to everything going on with Omicron” and “we’re gonna watch it day by day.”
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
