Matt Reeves’ Batmobile Is Badass, But ‘Absolute Batman’ Took Things Completely Off the Rails

Matt Reeves officially kicked off production on The Batman Part II yesterday, sharing a pair of behind-the-scenes monitor shots that immediately sent fans into detective mode. And fittingly, the very first thing we see rolling into action is the Batmobile itself. Because no matter who’s under the cowl, no matter what version of Gotham we’re stepping into, the Batmobile is always one of the most important weapons in Batman’s arsenal.

Every generation has its favorite. For a lot of fans, it’s still Tim Burton’s 1989 Batmobile, that long, gothic nightmare machine. It was sleek, theatrical, and completely unique to Burton’s vision. Then the films evolved. Christopher Nolan gave us the Tumbler, basically a military tank crashing through Gotham. Zack Snyder turned it into an armored war machine. Every filmmaker bends the Batmobile to fit their version of Batman.

And that’s exactly why Matt Reeves’ Batmobile works so damn well.

Instead of giving us another hyper-military tank, Reeves stripped it down into this terrifying muscle car monster. It’s heavily inspired by late-60s and early-70s muscle cars, particularly a Dodge Charger and Plymouth Barracuda, but modified into something that feels less like a superhero vehicle and more like a street racer from hell.

Speaking with Empire, Matt Reeves explained exactly what he was going for with the vehicle, noting, “I wanted the Batmobile to feel like a creature from a horror movie.” He later expanded on that inspiration while speaking with , saying the car was heavily inspired by and describing it as “this sort of monstrous car.”