The Batman to have world-premiere in Korea on March 1

Batman is coming back. ‘The Batman,’ which heralded generation shift with Robert Pattinson, will make world premiere by hitting box offices in Korea on March 1. It is the first time in 10 years for a movie featuring exclusively Batman to hit the box office since ‘The Dark Knight Rises (2012)’ directed by Christopher Nolan was released in 2012. The running time of the new release is 172 minutes, nearly three hours.

“I am well aware of Korean fans’ love of Batman,” Pattinson told a virtual press meeting for Korean reporters on Friday. “Since the movie will be world premiering in Korea, it will definitely have significant influence on other countries.” The press meeting was also joined by director Matt Reeves, actor Paul Dano playing the super villain character Riddler, and Zoë Kravitz playing the Cat Woman character.

“The Batman’ is the story of Batman in early days of Batman when he lived as the hero of Gotham City for two years. The movie is directed by Reeves who directed the ‘Planet Of The Apes’ franchise. While Batman traces secret serial killer Riddler who kills power elites prior to a mayoral election, he comes to know uncomfortable truth and agonizes over whether to seek vengeance or justice.

“It was a great challenge to produce a new movie with a story more than 80 years old and a legendary character,” Reeves said. “We focused on showcasing balanced images of Batman as superhero and reality persona.”


Hyo-Ju Son hjson@donga.com