Big news for Batman fans broke this weekend, as DC shared a first trailer for the upcoming movie The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson in the titular role. The trailer was shown at DC’s online FanDome event on August 22 as part of The Batman panel with director Matt Reeves.
From the looks of the trailer, the movie seems to be dark, grimy, and grim, with most of the introduction focusing on a brutal crime scene with scribbled taunts to Batman and blood splattered on the walls. Fans of Westworld will recognize Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon from his role as Bernard, and there are also short glimpses of other characters including Zoe Kravtiz as Catwoman and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Gotham’s resident mob boss.
Much of the plot revealed in the trailer seems to revolve around The Riddler, played by Paul Dano, who in previous Batman stories has been portrayed most often as a goofy lover of mysteries who is desperate for Batman’s attention. But the version of Riddler in this movie looks to be considerably darker in tone, with him staging brutal murders and taunting Batman to figure out his identity.
And as for the Batman himself, perhaps the biggest surprise of the trailer is not the new version of the classic dark Batman costume or the sweet turbo-charged Batmobile, but Pattinson’s take on Bruce Wayne. In contrast to Christian Bale’s polished and charming playboy from the Dark Knight trilogy, this version of Wayne looks like a mess, unkempt and shaggy, and recalling that emo phase we all went through as teenagers.
Other names we can expect to see in the movie include Colin Farrell as classic Batman villain The Penguin, Andy Serkis as Bruce’s loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham District Attorney Gil Colson, and Jayme Lawson as Gotham City mayoral candidate Bella Reál. There have been rumors swirling around since the post-credits scene of Justice League that fan-favorite villain Deathstroke may make an appearance as well, but there’s no confirmation of this so far.
The movie had originally been slated for release next summer, but it had to be delayed due to the pandemic. The new release date is set for next year on October 1, 2021, and while you’re waiting you can check out everything we know about The Batman so far.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.