The Batman was a moody, rain-soaked noir movie taking obvious inspiration from the New Hollywood movies of the 1970s. Batman’s voiceover was specifically reminiscent of Taxi Driver, though the film was peppered with fun nods to the classic films of that dingy yet creative era.
But what if The Batman went back even further… to the silent era! Over on Reddit user AllOutMovies has posted a hilarious reimagining of The Batman as a silent movie, complete with a plinky plonky piano track, the sound of a projector reel, and old-school bulb flicker. Check it out:
We like this a lot, though a comment points out that there’s a missed opportunity in not leaning into the moodier aspects of the silent era. It’s worth remembering that many actual silent movie movies were produced before the advent of the Hays Code, which strictly governed what kind of content was permissible in movies.
This prohibited any content that was in danger of “lowering the moral standards of those who saw it” and specifically requires that any criminal action in a movie must be punished. But prior to that studios could go nuts with risky content to thrill audiences, and we’d love to see an imagined pre-Code Batman silent movie.
But, for now, we’ll just enjoy this. We specifically love the sped-up fighting and car chases here, and the captions put a big smile on our faces.
The Batman – Part II is expected to begin its shoot in November for a release on Oct 3, 2025, here’s hoping Matt Reeves and Robert Pattison can push forward this unique depiction of Gotham in some fun ways that subtly recall the classic films of the past.
