The Dark Knight does not believe in killing criminals in The Batman, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a certain sense of enjoyment when inflicting pain upon them. For many years, the most common depiction of Batman imagines the superhero as someone that enforces a strict no-kill rule, no matter how challenging it gets to keep some supervillains alive. All too often, killing his adversaries would be the easy way out, and Batman would usually prefer to take the long road to capture his foes instead.
Robert Pattinson recently opened up about Batman's no-kill rule which will be explored in The Batman. The actor leaves it open for interpretation as to whether his Batman actually wants to kill but holds himself back, or if he's just trying to carry out a "fair" punishment for criminals. As he detailed to Parade, per TheDirect:
"There is this rule with Batman: he must not kill. It can be interpreted in two ways. Either he only wants to inflict the appropriate punishment, or he wants to kill and his self-control prevents him from doing so."
In any case, Pattinson stepped into this project from the very start with Batman's famous no-kill rule in mind. It came up during his rehearsals early on in production, and Pattinson realized that Batman must enjoy hurting people to some degree, even if he doesn't want to kill them. Perhaps this all comes from the vengeance Batman has been forever seeking since the deaths of his parents.
"I imagined it that way from the rehearsal of the first fight, I thought it was funnier: something in him just wanted to slit the guy's throat! I told myself that if he spends his nights chasing criminals, it is impossible that he does not take pleasure in it. He suffers and it is a desire that overwhelms him. And by dint of knocking, his mind clears, he calms down, he reaches a state close to plenitude. I'm sure in this first fight, he manages to convince himself that every guy in front of him is the one who killed his mother (Laughs.) And so that allows him to vent all his rage."
The Batman's No-Kill Rule May Be Tested by the Riddler
The Riddler will be terrorizing Gotham City in The Batman, which is set about two years into Bruce Wayne's new life as a crime-fighter. Played by Paul Dano, the Zodiac-like serial killer has been murdering people in horrific ways while leaving behind bizarre puzzles for Batman and the Gotham Police Department to solve. Given the dastardly crimes he's committing and how much of a threat he is to Gotham, will it take killing for the Dark Knight to rid the city of the murderer?
The Batman is directed by Matt Reeves. Along with Pattinson and Dano, the film also stars Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon. Chances are this will be the first of a movie series with inevitable sequels on the way, though at least two spinoff series are already in the works at HBO Max.
The Batman will be released in movie theaters on March 4, 2022.