Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ HBO Max Release Date Set For April 2022

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Killar confirms that Matt Reeves’ The Batman will release on HBO Max in April 2022, a month after its theatrical release.

Reeves’ new take on the iconic DC Comics hero stars Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Paul Dano, and Colin Farrell. 

The Batman is the next DC release from Warner Bros, but it won’t take place within the DCEU canon.

The Batman has had a long, complex journey from production to screen. Ben Affleck was originally going to write, direct, and star in the solo Batman movie. After Affleck left the project, Reeves joined the movie, reworking the story to focus on a younger version of the hero outside of the main DCEU timeline, this time played by Pattinson.

Filming began in 2020 throughout Glasgow and Liverpool in the UK. However, the production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including when Pattinson tested positive in September 2020. Due to the delays, the release date was pushed from June 2021 to March 4, 2022.

Speaking to Vox’s Recode (via Comicbook), Killar revealed that the film will debut on HBO Max on April 19, 2022. The Batman will join DC’s selection of movies and films 46 days after its release after a 45-day theatrical exclusive window.

Killar called the decision a huge change when compared to the companies’ release schedule in previous years from 2016 to 2019.

Under Killar, WarnerMedia altered its release strategies to factor in theater closures and lockdowns implemented by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2021, starting with Wonder Woman 1984. Though it was met with an outcry from directors and industry voices upon announcement, Warner Bros. released films onto HBO Max simultaneously with their theatrical releases, with the strategy being used for the release of The Suicide Squad, Dune, and The Matrix Resurrections.

With theatres reopening, Killar once more reconsidered the strategy, stating that Warner Bros. would rerelease their slate to theatres first, albeit with a shorter 45-day exclusive window.

With discussions on what the simultaneous release strategy would mean for the industry going forward, many creatives and industry figures will welcome The Batman‘s theatrical exclusive window, as the film promises to be one of the most anticipated and profitable releases of the year.

However, with cases of the Omicron variant rising in numbers and uncertainty around future variants, there is no guarantee that future lockdowns can be avoided. As such, it is possible that the studio could revert to its original simultaneous release plans come March 2022.  (source: screenrant.com)

(ROHN ROMULO)