Are you having a bat day? If not, you’re about to. Thanks to eager fans and social media, we’re all now able to appreciate the best photos of the new Batcycle from The Batman that we’ve seen so far. Not only that, but there’s a video as well, featuring stunt doubles for both Batman (Robert Pattinson) and Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) astride their respective bikes.
Bikes On Film:
In January 2020, Twitter user Wade Gravett discovered that the newest Batman film, directed by Matt Reeves, was shooting right outside his office building. Thus, he did what anyone in his situation would do, and started tweeting some of the cool stuff he was seeing. Through him, we had our first glimpse of the new Batcycle—or, at least what might be a new Batcycle. We don’t know a lot about the movie’s plot yet, but we do know it’s supposed to take place early in Bruce’s caped crusading career—so theoretically, he could have more than one bike, or have it evolve over time.
Here, you can see both a stunt rider and someone who could be Robert Pattinson both sitting on board this bike, in photos taken several hours apart and placed side by side.
Today, we have a clearer glimpse of both Batman and what is indisputably a Batcycle, all dressed up. Fan speculation is rampant, as you’d expect—with many remarking that the look is very reminiscent of the Batman: Zero Year New 52 comic series.
As for this bike, chat here in the RideApart newsroom seems to have settled on a Harley-Davidson FL Softail front end—specifically the upside-down forks off the Fat Bob—but there’s clearly a bit more going on here, as you’ll see in the video.
Apparently, Bats just had to lay ‘er down, according to this footage from Twitter user Dbsage. It’s clear that stunt people are riding both bikes. Does that mean this crash was in the script? Hard to say for sure, and even when the movie is out, we may not know if it ends up in a cutscene that doesn’t make it to the final version or the eventual DVD extras.
This is clearly a more stripped-down, essential Batman than we’ve seen on film before. He doesn’t have all his wonderful toys, or appear to have everything figured out just yet. He probably doesn’t even have an amazing arsenal of detective skills built up at this point, either. Is Lucius Fox even in the picture? My kingdom for a tiny, throwaway scene of Lucius Fox, bike builder.