Kevin Smith Says THE BATMAN Will Be Based on THE LONG HALLOWEEN Story Arc
We don’t know much about what Matt Reeves is planning for his Batman movie, but one thing that he keeps saying is that it will be a dark noir thriller that will heavily feature Batman in detective mode. We will finally get to see Batman as The World’s Greatest Detective. We also know that there will be multiple villains involved.
Well, according to Kevin Smith, the story for the film will be based on the classic comic book story arc The Long Halloween. During the latest episode of Fatman Beyond Podcast, Smith's co-host Marc Bernardin addressed reports that the movie will adapt that story arc to which Smith responded:
"To be fair, I heard it too, and I heard it from a good source too."
Smith has a lot of ties to the entertainment industry and DC Entertainment, and for him to say that he’s heard that info from a “good source” says that there actually could be truth to this.
The Long Halloween was written by Jeph Loeb with artwork by Tim Sale, and the story is set during the early days of Batman's crimefighting career as a killer is murdering people during the holidays. It takes place over the course of a year and includes several of Batman’s rogues gallery of villains. Here’s the synopsis:
Christmas. St. Patrick’s Day. Easter. As the calendar’s days stack up, so do the bodies littered in the streets of Gotham City. A murderer is loose, killing only on holidays. The only man that can stop this fiend? The Dark Knight. In a mystery taking place during Batman’s early days of crime fighting, Batman: The Long Halloween is one of the greatest Dark Knight stories ever told.
Working with District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant James Gordon, Batman races against the calendar as he tries to discover who Holiday is before he claims his next victim each month. A mystery that has the reader continually guessing the identity of the killer, this story also ties into the events that transform Harvey Dent into Batman’s deadly enemy, Two-Face.“
I imagine the film won’t be a direct adaptation, but Reeves could very well be using plot points and other elements of the story as he formed his own.
The Long Halloween is a favorite Batman comic for me and a lot of fans, so the fact that this next Batman film could be based on that is really cool and exciting! This is a story arc I’ve always wanted to see brought to life! As you know, Robert Pattinson is set to star in the film.
What do you all think about the possibility of The Batman being inspired by The Long Halloween?