The Batman’s noir aesthetic gave us a moody, grimy world for Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne, as well as his many friends and enemies, to play around in. But if you’re looking for more on how Gotham was brought to life in Matt Reeves’ new DC movie, a new artbook has you covered — and Gizmodo has an exclusive look inside.
Being published by Abrams Books, The Art of The Batman from James Field dives into the filming of, and concept work, that helped bring the latest adaptation of DC’s seminal Dark Knight to life. As well as looks behind-the-scenes from the movie itself and tons of concept art, The Art of The Batman includes insight and interviews with the cast and crew about how they brought Batman, Riddler, Catwoman, and many more Gotham icons to life, from page, to art, to screen.
io9 has an exclusive look inside some of the concept work from the book, which is due out April 19 — and is available to pre-order now. Click through to see more, although a very mild spoiler warning: one piece, at the very end of the gallery, is based on a scene near the climax of the movie. So if you’ve not had three hours to spare yet, well… you’ve been warned.
The Batman and His Ride…
The Batman’s Batmobile gave us one of the coolest scenes in the entire movie — and here it is in all its glory, next to a shadowed Bruce.
… and the Catwoman and Hers
But Batman isn’t the only one with a sweet ride in the film — Zoe Kravitz’s Selena Kyle gets a purrfect bike for her escapades as the vengeful Catwoman.
Gotham’s Streets
Gotham’s grungy, noir aesthetic makes it as much a character in The Batman as anyone in the cast, in a way that the city really hasn’t in Batman adaptations for a while. This artwork of a bustling city at night perfectly captures the glowing, grimy world of the city.
The Riddler’s Book of Secrets
Paul Dano’s Riddler is never without his book of secrets — as shown in this concept art, an accounting book that he’s scratchily painted his trademark question mark symbol over.
He Lies Still
But that’s not all — here’s the first clue from the Riddler we see Bruce and Jim Gordon have to deal with in the movie, left at the murder scene of Gotham’s Mayor, Don Mitchell Jr..
Don’t forget to turn back now if you’ve not seen the movie: our last piece of art is a little spoilery!
Showdown with the Riddler’s Army
Based on the climax of the film, where Bruce interrupts the Riddlers’ followers from staging their own assault on Bella Real’s victory speech after the mayoral election, this piece shows Batman descending from the shadows ready to deliver one hell of a beatdown.