‘The Batman’ director defends the 3-hour running time

The Batman is finally grappling its way into theaters in two days, with an extensive runtime that’ll see the Robert Pattinson-led reboot going on for nearly three hours. But according to director Matt Reeves, the film will be “engrossing” enough not to feel needlessly long or repetitive.

In a profile for The New York Times to celebrate the success of The Batman, the filmmaker defended his decision to shape the film’s 3-hour runtime in the editing room, saying:

“Once you see the movie, I think that ceases to be an issue. It’s immersive, it takes you along and it keeps you engrossed. […] By the way, it was once longer.”

You just had to go ahead and say that, didn’t you Matt? As well we started the #ReleaseTheReevesCut a little earlier than Justice League, lest we get that extended version three years after the film’s original theatrical debut.

All joking aside, though, the film marks a fresh change of pace for cinema, specifically because of its length; a lot of superhero flicks in the past few years have failed to set up their narrative because of rushing through plot threads, and The Batman being something of an origin story, those extra minutes will definitely serve the movie well.

And even if that weren’t the case, after waiting so long for this film, would anyone really say no to more of Pattinson’s Caped Crusader on the big screen?