Robert Pattinson, the star of this year’sThe Batman, has revealed which previous incarnation bears the most influence on the new project. While some may guess the Christopher Nolan or Tim Burton films would have a hand in it, Pattinson actually cites 1993’s animated cult classic,Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Mask of the Phantasmwas a theatrically released spin-off ofthe wildly successfulBatman: The Animated Series.The movie finds Bruce Wayne reuniting with a lost love named Andrea Beaumont, whileBatmanis on the hunt for a new serial killer called the Phantasm, who’s picking off all of Gotham’s crime bosses.
RELATED:The Batman Director Mercifully Says The Film Will Not Be An Origin Story
In an interview aboutThe BatmanforPremiere France,Pattinson explains this connection. ‘‘Batman is someone more… unstable. If you read between the lines, it’s actually very sad… In my opinion, the only other [film] to achieve this is the animated filmBatman: Mask Of The Phantasm," Pattinson explained. “When I saw it, it clicked: being Batman is a kind of curse, it’s a burden… I don’t think we’ve ever really seen that in a live film.”
As Pattinson suggests,Batman: Mask of thePhantasmis a much more introspective and emotionally mature look at the Caped Crusader. It delves into the psychology of the Batman character, and the tragedy of leaving a normal life behind. The film has long been praised for these additions, with some fans hailing it as the one trueBatmanfilm,besting evenThe Dark Knight.
If Matt Reeves and company want to create the definitive live-action interpretation, there is no better starting point thanMask of the Phantasm.Because as incredible as other variations of Batman have been, let it be Burton’s or Nolan’s or the Adam West series, they’ve all taken many liberties with the source material.The AnimatedSeriesoffered Batman in its purest form, and if some of that magiccould translate over toThe Batman, it would surprise and delight Bat-fans everywhere.
Director Reeves has also citedother influences onThe Batman,namely 1970s crime thrillers includingChinatown,Taxi Driver,andKlute;all of which feel very appropriate for the Batman universe. Fans will see how all of these influences pan out, and hopefully create something fresh and surprising, when the DC film finally premieres.
