'I'm vengeance': 'The Batman' teaser trailer thrills fans at DC's online event

Fans get a first look at 'very human and very flawed' Batman during DC FanDome

We don't hear much from him, but the little Robert Pattinson's Batman does say in in The Batman teaser trailer has certainly had an impact.

The new glimpse of the movie was showcased during Warner Bros' online DC FanDome event on Saturday.

Director Matt Reeves's take on the caped crusader's story is certainly dark. The teaser didn't only give us a first look at RPatz as Batman, but we also saw Paul Dano's Riddler, Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman and Colin Farrell, who is virtually unrecognisable as the Penguin.

Colin Farrell is virtually unrecognisable as Oswald Cobblepot, The Penguin, in 'The Batman' trailer.

The film also stars Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Peter Sarsgaard as District Attorney Gil Colson and Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon.

The teaser trailer runs at 2:23 minutes, a sizeable first look. Despite production shutting down in March because of Covid-19, it is scheduled for an October 2021 release.

In the trailer, we see Batman get into a fist fight, which begins with him saying, "I'm vengeance" – a hint that he has found the people who killed his parents, perhaps?

Much of the teaser centres on a mysterious villain leaving notes for Batman at crime scenes across Gotham.

Of the film, Reeves has said: "Without being an origin story for him, it’s something that touches upon his origins."

He added that it was inspired by classic neo-noir films such as Chinatown and Taxi Driver, and that we will meet a "very human and very flawed" Bruce Wayne in his second year as Batman, trying to solve a series of crimes.

The Rock gets set to topple DC hierarchy 

Saturday's online DC FanDome event from Warner Bros comes after real-world events such as Comic-Con were cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The all-day event premiered footage and panels for follow-ups to blockbusters Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad and Shazam!, despite uncertainty over release dates, with many US cinemas still closed.

Johnson, the world's top-paid movie star who is now making his first foray into the superhero "universe", teased next year's Black Adam, in which he will play a 5,000-year-old rebel slave determined to mete out ruthless justice.

"Things will never be the same. Because the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change," the former wrestler warned rival stars in typically bombastic style.

DC films coming soon 

Details for The Flash movie, in which Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck are set to reprise their former roles as Batman, were kept under wraps. The only clue given was that its young hero will hop through time and space in the so-called "multiverse".

Footage of The Suicide Squad showed Margot Robbie and Viola Davis return alongside new cast members Idris Elba, John Cena and Peter Capaldi.

Wonder Woman 1984, penciled to be the next DC movie in October, was also talked about.

"I really think the movie is so great on the big screen," said director Patty Jenkins. "We believe in putting it in the cinema ... I can't wait for it to come out soon!"

The event comes as WarnerMedia, which owns the movie rights to DC comics, undergoes a massive restructuring, including the loss of hundreds of studio jobs.

Parent company AT&T is refocusing on new streaming service HBO Max, which has delighted comic-book obsessives with plans for a new director's cut of ensemble superhero movie Justice League.

Director Zack Snyder stepped back from the 2017 film due to family tragedy, and fans disappointed by the end product have spent years campaigning for his vision to be restored.

Saturday's panel on the Snyder Cut sent geeks around the world into social media meltdown, with Snyder confirming it will feature four, hour-long episodes, twice the length of the studio-cut original.

Additional reporting by AFP