The Matt Reeves Batman Rumor That Has Fans Worried About Alfred
Like the upcoming film's titular character himself, director Matt Reeves' The Batman is shrouded in a dark veil of mystery (as of November 2020). Much of the casting has been revealed — Robert Pattinson is donning the famous cape and cowl, and Paul Dano is taking up the green mantle of the Riddler — but other than that, most of the information available comes in bits and pieces.
Arguably the most important detail Reeves has let loose into the world is this: Rather than the efficient, experienced Batman audiences know, Pattinson's version of the character is only two years into his crime-fighting crusade. Viewers can expect plenty of mistakes and misjudgments on behalf of this younger, more unchained superhero-in-the-making.
Even in his earliest days, however, Batman never worked entirely alone. There may be no Robin in the picture yet, but when the Dark Knight comes home bruised and battered, the Wayne family's loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth is always there to patch him up. In The Batman, Andy Serkis is set to fill the role of this lovable character, played in the past by the likes of Jeremy Irons and Michael Caine. That's all well and good — Serkis is sure to do a bang-up job — but certain Alfred-related rumors are wracking fans' nerves.
Potential spoilers for The Batman ahead!
Different Alfred, different fate?
Before the news that Ben Affleck is returning as Batman in the upcoming movie The Flash was made public, a few "insiders" correctly predicted as much. They seem to have their ears to the ground at Warner Bros., because they've made a shocking claim about Reeves' Batman trilogy as well. According to unnamed sources close to the rumor-flinging site We Got This Covered, Alfred may not live to see the young Bruce Wayne fulfill his potential as the Batman. The outlet reports that "allegedly it is Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth who will kick the bucket at some point in director Matt Reeves' The Batman trilogy of movies."
Only time will tell whether these insiders are correct or not, but if Alfred does die in The Batman, this would be the ultimate proof that anything can happen in Reeves' reimagined version of this corner of the DC universe.
Everyone and their mother can recite Batman's origin story like it's their life's mantra: After his parents are killed, Bruce dedicates himself to ensuring a safer future for Gotham City by learning the best ways to combat crime. To kill off Alfred after Bruce has already become Batman — and while he's still in his formative hero years, no less? It's a hard pill to swallow. What sort of crime-fighter would he grow to be if this rumor proves true? A Batman without a mentor or caretaker sounds ten times as dangerous as any other Batman.
Alfred has died a few times in the comics before, though his deaths can mostly be attributed to stories separate from DC's main continuity (a nebulous concept in and of itself thanks to retcons and rehashes, but that's a story for another day). As far as mainstream Batman comics are concerned, the butler has paid the ultimate price twice: once in the '60s, when saving Batman and Robin from a falling boulder, after which he was revived via comic book science; and once in 2020, when long-time Bat Family nemesis Bane snaps his neck. To say the least, Batman doesn't come out of either ordeal unscathed.
Fans can only pray these insiders are wrong — for as interesting as it would be story-wise, viewers don't want Alfred dead any more than Batman himself would.