First Set Photo From The Batman Teases A Huge Funeral Scene

“I have one power: I never give up,” once said a Kevlar-wearing, nocturnal animal-admiring vigilante. No, it’s not Tenacious Man. I’m talking about the Batman.

I’m certainly not giving up hope yet that Matt Reeves’ upcoming re-reboot of the Bat-franchise will be anything but stellar, given the dude’s dedication to the comics and Robert Pattinson (or should I say, BATTinson) portraying a younger, noir-y version of our Dark Knight. And now, fueling my excitement even more is evidence that this movie is actually 100% underway, via a picture of a gargantuan set nearing completion.

Seen in the gallery down below is a cathedral set being built for the 2021 film. It seems to be a converted airplane shed and it’s absolutely huge. It’s also painted black all throughout and, most tantalizingly, is surrounded by blimps! Remember blimps?

Batman: The Animated Series sure does, and it’s seeming more and more like Reeves’ vision for his Batman will line up quite a bit with Paul Dini’s animated favorite. Granted, the blimps may just be there to prevent these exact types of airborne photos from leaking online, so they may not actually be in the film, but they still look fun, eh?

Apparently, this cathedral is being built to house a funeral and there’s going to be room for hundreds of extras. I really, really hope we aren’t getting an elaborate Thomas and Martha Wayne memorial though, since, well, we’ve seen this so so so many times already. But I guess since this is a younger Bats, it would make sense, right?

Then again, I’m not sure why we can’t just hop in at the end of Year One, or something, where Batman is indeed still green in the horns but well-established enough to where we don’t need his origin. I actually thought Spider-Man: Homecoming did a good job with that, but we’ll see what’s what in 2021.

I’m all hype for a new Batman, I really am. The Dark Knight is my favorite of all superheroes, even if I know him more from his live-action exploits than animated, either still or motion. I’ve read the big ones, like Year One and The Long Halloween and even the first omnibus of The Court of Owls, but that’s about it. I grew up with The Animated Series and loved that, too, but my heart will always lie with George Clooney’s frosty bat nipples. Perhaps Matt Reeves and R.Patz can replace Arnold’s ice puns in my heart, but that’s going take a lot of effort on behalf of The Batman to pull off. Still, I wish them the best of luck.