BATMAN PT. 3 - OFFICIAL CLIP: The Joker Gang
[GOTHAM METRO STATION - NIGHT]
Rain pours down in sheets, hammering against the pavement. The Metro platform is dimly lit, fluorescent lights flickering overhead. Steam rises from the grates.
A group of ten gang members wearing clown makeup crude imitations of the Joker's surround an innocent man in a business suit. He's on his knees, clutching his briefcase, trembling.
THUG 1 (laughing, kicking the man's briefcase away): "Come on, man! Smile!"
THUG 2 (shoving the man to the ground): "Yeah! Why so serious?"
They laugh harsh, cruel laughter as they kick him, hitting him with bats, toying with him. The man tries to crawl away, but they circle him like wolves.
THUG 3: "This is for the Joker! He showed us the truth!"
The rain continues to fall.
[SOUND: A FAINT METALLIC CLANG ABOVE]
The thugs freeze.
They look up.
A shadowy figure moves across the scaffolding above the platform quick, silent, predatory.
THUG 1 (nervous): "What the hell was that?"
THUG 4 (squinting into the darkness): "It's nothing."
But they're not convinced.
[SOUND: FOOTSTEPS - SLOW]
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
The footsteps echo from a dark alley beside the platform. Growing louder.
The only sounds now: the rain, the footsteps, and the low, ominous hum of the score.
The thugs turn toward the alley, gripping their weapons tighter.
THUG 2 (trying to sound brave): "Who's there?!"
No answer.
The footsteps continue.
[THE FIGURE EMERGES]
From the shadows, ROBIN steps into the flickering light.
He's older now—no longer the boy from The Dark Knight. His suit is tactical: dark blue and black with red accents. A short cape flows behind him. His mask covers his eyes. Rain streams down his face.
He doesn't stop walking.
The music swells a sharp, rising string.
THUG 1 (laughing nervously): "Oh, it's the Batman wannabe!"
The others laugh, but it's forced. Uncertain.
THUG 3: "What, you gonna tuck us into bed, kid?"
Robin says nothing. He keeps walking toward them, fists clenched.
THUG 1 (raising his bat): "Alright, tough guy. Let's see what you got."
He charges forward, bat raised high.
[THE FIGHT BEGINS]
Robin moves. In one fluid motion, he sidesteps the swing, grabs the thug's wrist, and twists snap dislocating the shoulder. The thug screams.
Robin drives his knee into the thug's ribs crack and follows with a brutal elbow to the face. The thug drops like a sack of bricks.
The score fully begins.
THUG 2 rushes in from the left.
Robin spins, catching the incoming punch, and redirects it using the thug's momentum to slam him headfirst into a metal support beam. The thug crumples.
The others attack together.
Robin ducks under a bat swing, sweeps one's legs out from under him, and in the same motion, launches himself forward driving a flying knee into another's chest. The thug flies backward into a vending machine, shattering the glass.
One scrambles to his feet, pulling a knife.
He lunges.
Robin catches his wrist mid-stab, twists the arm behind the thug's back, and slams him face-first into the ground. The knife skitters away across the wet pavement.
He continues, finishing off the rest.
The youngest one backs away, terrified.
"Wait, wait, please I didn't "
Robin closes the distance in two steps, grabs the thug by the collar, and headbutts him. The thug drops.
[SILENCE]
Robin stands in the center of the platform, surrounded by the unconscious gang members. Rain pours down around him. His breathing is steady, controlled.
He looks down at the man, who is staring up at him in shock, relief, and also fear.
ROBIN (voice low, calm): "You're safe now. Get out of here."
The man stands shakily, nods, and stumbles away.
Robin watches him go.
[FADE TO BLACK]
THE BATMAN PT. 3
NOVEMBER 2016
.
.
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I watched the clip that was just released on my laptop. I knew some fans didn't like how I handled the trailers and marketing. Marvel released three trailers per movie and a lot of clips; I only did two trailers and a few clips. But it worked.
The trailers were all made by this great guy, Manuel Hudson, whom I hired during the filming of Superman. I found him on YouTube. He was editing fan-made trailers for old movies, recutting classics, adding new music, and crafting incredible promos. The guy had serious skill. I reached out, hired him on the spot, and he's been with us ever since.
The final trailer was released a week ago, and what many people have noticed so far is how little Batman appears in it. It mostly focuses on the Riddler, with some teases of Killer Croc, but I wanted the movie to be his full reveal. We had marketing materials ready for after the movie came out. The focus in the trailers was on the plot: Robin, Catwoman, and Bruce himself not as Batman, but as Bruce.
I might have fucked up by making people think Batman was barely in it, but the conversation shifted to speculation: why isn't Batman shown much? The prevailing theory was that the movie is about his return, that Bruce had retired and the film is about him being forced back into the cowl, which isn't wrong. People were worried he'd only show up in the third act and that it was mostly a Robin movie. The strategy was risky, but it also had everyone talking.
I got a text and saw it was from Margot. I checked the time. Fifteen minutes. I smiled. Yeah, in fifteen minutes SNL was going to air. I'd made sure to catch it live. There was a delay on the West Coast, so I'd synced up the East Coast feed. All her friends were in New York for the taping, but I couldn't be there. I was too busy with everything I had going on.
It sucked, but there was nothing I could do about it. I settled onto the couch. The SNL opening played: the usual cold open, a political sketch since it was a month before the election. It was funny how boring this world's politics were, and that was a good thing in my opinion.
One thing I loved about this world was that it seemed like everyone made the best decisions in government okay, maybe not all of them but the economy was doing great. The amount of money DC and other movies were making was due to that. One thing I was dreading was if COVID ever happened in four years; I was pretty sure that would mess everything up.
My gloomy thoughts were interrupted by,
"Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"
It cut to the SNL stage.
The lights came up.
The band played.
The announcer's voice boomed, "Ladies and gentlemen, Margot Robbie!" The crowd erupted.
Margot walked onto the stage, beaming and waving to the audience. She looked stunning in a sleek black blazer and jeans. She took center stage and waited for the applause to die down.
MARGOT (grinning): "Thank you! Thank you so much! It is so good to be here hosting Saturday Night Live!"
Applause.
MARGOT: "I have to say, this is a dream come true. I've been watching this show since I was a kid, and now I'm here hosting. It's surreal."
She continued with a few more jokes, promoting Birdman a bit. It was funny and charming, a strong monologue. Then the show began. The sketches were good. I got a few laughs, some political satire, a game show parody, and a music video spoof. The Librarian sketch made me not look at her the same way again.
Then the one she'd mentioned came up. The set was a typical SNL writers' room: whiteboards covered in scribbled ideas, coffee cups everywhere. Most of the cast members were sitting around a couch, looking exhausted and frustrated. Margot sat there looking expectant.
KATE MCKINNON (enthusiastically): "Okay, okay. I've got it. 'Girl at a Bar.' Margot plays a woman who—"
PETE DAVIDSON (cutting her off): "Kate, we've done that twelve times this year."
Margot nodded. "Yeah, I think I saw that one too."
KYLE MOONEY (standing up, excited): "Wait, wait! What if we do my talking dolphin idea?"
Everyone stared at him.
Margot stared at him.
Margot sighed. "So… you really have nothing?"
KENAN THOMPSON stood up suddenly, looking serious.
KENAN: "Wait. There's only one reason for all this."
Margot looked at him. "You're all bad at writing?"
EVERYONE (overlapping): "What?! No! No, no, no—"
KENAN (gravely): "We have angered Him."
Beat.
MARGOT: "…Who?"
KENAN: "You'll see."
[CUT TO: A DARK HALLWAY]
Margot is led by Kenan and Kate down a dimly lit corridor backstage.
MARGOT (nervous): "Where are we going?"
KATE (whispering): "The Shrine."
MARGOT: "The what?"
They stop in front of a door. Kenan pushes it open.
[INSIDE THE ROOM]
Margot steps inside and acts comically confused.
In the center of the room is a massive shrine, candles everywhere, flowers, offerings. And in the middle of it all, mounted on the wall like a religious icon, is a giant framed picture of me.
Margot's jaw drops.
MARGOT: "What the hell?"
KENAN (bowing slightly): "We must ask for His blessing."
And then I turned off the TV.
"Okay, that's enough for me," I muttered.
"Oh my god, it's going to be a cringefest," I said.
And soon I began getting texts.
My phone was buzzing nonstop.
I looked down and saw messages flooding in.
Graves:Are you SEEING this?? 😂😂😂
Matt:Dude. I'm dying.
John:This is the funniest thing I've seen all year.
Joanna:DANIEL 😭😭
Lucia:I cannot BREATHE.
Mom:are you watching? alice is having the time of her life
Haley:OMG.
That and more came in.
I stared at my phone, scrolling through the messages.
Okay, maybe it's not that bad, I thought.
I turned the TV back on.
Dreading the cringe and after a few seconds, it wasn't that bad. It was funny, yes. Not because of what it was about. Maybe it was just me, but I thought it would be cringy. But Margot was breaking character every twenty seconds, laughing and unable to say her own lines due to McKinnon and Kenan's delivery.
KENAN (solemnly, holding up a candle): "'And forgive us, for we know not what we write…'"
MARGOT (trying to stay serious, but her voice cracks): "'And forgive us, for we know not what we—'"
She completely loses it, doubling over laughing.
KENAN (still in character, completely deadpan as he improvises): "He demands respect."
MARGOT keeps laughing as the audience joins her.
Okay, this was funny now, I thought. The cringe factor was gone. It had turned into one of those actors-breaking-character sketches.
The show continued for another fifteen minutes, and after a musical performance, it wrapped up.
And honestly?I was pretty sure Margot would be invited back, considering how good the show was.
.
.
.
End of the Month
I watched, confused, as Margot and my mom talked in my living room. They were back to how it was before, no, maybe a bit more; it was a lovefest between them now, as if their bitter feud over the last few months had never even happened.
Mom was dressed as Princess Padmé, while Alice had come as Princess Leia. Darth Vader, Nathan, stood next to me with his helmet tucked under one arm. It was Halloween, after all. I was dressed as a flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz, complete with wings and a ridiculous little vest. Margot, naturally, had gone as the Wicked Witch of the West, green face paint and all.
I glanced at Nathan and muttered, "You seeing this?"
Nathan tilted his head toward the two women. "Well, your convoluted plan worked. Now they have cleared the air." I nodded slowly, still processing it.
The plan had been messy, sure, but necessary. I had orchestrated a situation where Margot and my mom had to sit down and actually talk about the misunderstanding that had driven a wedge between them. I had even bought some earrings to pass off as the so-called family heirloom so my mom could let Margot borrow it.
At first, Mom did not want to do it. After months of sniping, she was hesitant to extend an olive branch. Eventually she agreed, for me. When I told her how hurt Margot had been when Mom had covered for me during that whole mess, she relented. And it worked.
Nathan's voice pulled me back. "All that stupid drama could have been avoided if you had just done what your mother gave you that ring for...you are just overcomplicating things kid" He said it like he was reading my mind.
I sighed. "Look, it's not the right time yet. I just have too much on my hands now, but I have decided on when and how."
Nathan raised an eyebrow but did not push. "Alright. Whatever you say."
I took a sip of my drink, my thoughts drifting to everything else happening today. This was not just Halloween; it was the culmination of two years of planning. Phil and I were finally going to get our revenge on someone.
My phone buzzed. Speak of the devil. I picked up immediately.
"Hey, Phil. We can start."
"Code red, Daniel."
My stomach dropped. "What? Did she find out?" I asked, feeling a sudden chill run through me.
"No, no—"
"Then what? Phil, we're doing this now. Nothing is going to stop us."
There was a long pause on the other end. Then, "Dee Dee died."
Oh. that sucks... Claire and Mitchell's mom.
"Oh," I said quietly. "That'll do it."
"You need to cancel the cars," Phil said, his voice tight, frantic. "And I need to oh my God, I'm freaking out—"
"Phil, Phil, don't worry," I interrupted, forcing myself to stay calm. "I'll make some calls and call it all off. You do your part and make sure everything we set up at your place is—"
"I'm on it," he said quickly.
The call ended.
I sat there for a moment, deflated. Two years of planning. Gone.
"Well," I muttered, staring into my drink, "there's always next year."
.
.
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JAKE TALKS COMICS - THE BATMAN PT. 3: FINAL THOUGHTS AND BREAKDOWN
[INTRO - Jake sitting in his usual setup, Batman posters behind him]
JAKE (grinning): "What's up, everyone! Jake here, and WE ARE ONE WEEK AWAY from The Batman Pt. 3! I got my early screening tickets right here—"
[He holds up the tickets to the camera]
JAKE: "—thank you, our lord and savior Daniel Adler, for that."
He leans forward, excited.
JAKE: "Alright, so today we're doing a FULL breakdown of everything we've seen so far trailers, clips, interviews, Comic-Con footage, all of it. Because this movie is shaping up to be something special. I know it, you know it."
JAKE: "So, first things first from everything we've seen, this is going to be the longest Batman movie yet. We're looking at a runtime of around three hours, maybe even more. I mean, this could be the longest DC movie ever."
He pulls up a clip from an interview with Christopher Nolan.
[CLIP: Nolan interview]
NOLAN: "This was the hardest film I've ever made. At one point, I nearly quit. The balance we had to strike between wrapping up Bruce's story, setting up future films, introducing new characters, and making sure it all felt good and in place it was overwhelming."
JAKE (back on screen): "That's how ambitious this movie is. And if you think about it, that makes sense. Because this isn't just a Batman movie. It's the culmination of a trilogy, and it's setting up the Justice League movie. That's a lot to juggle."
He counts on his fingers.
JAKE: "We've got Robin taking over for Batman. We've got Catwoman. We've got Penguin. We've got Riddler. We've got Killer Croc. We've got the political fallout from the Dent Act. We've got Bruce Wayne trying to figure out if he even wants to be Batman anymore. And we've got all of this building toward Justice League. That's insane."
[SECTION 2]
JAKE: "Alright, so let's break down what we think the main plots are based on what we've seen."
He pulls up footage from the trailers.
JAKE: "FirstRobin. We know from the trailers that Robin has been filling in for Batman. The city thinks Batman killed Harvey Dent. But Robin's out there, trying to fill Batman's shoes."
[CLIP: Robin fighting Joker gang members in the rain]
JAKE: "And from that clip we just got at the beginning of this month, Robin is not messing around. I think this will be Dick Grayson's final movie as Robin, because I think we might see Jason in this movie, and Dick will take on the mantle of Nightwing."
He talks some more and then moves on.
JAKE: "Catwoman and Penguin. Now, this is where it gets interesting. From what we've seen, Penguin might actually be an anti-hero in this movie. He's shown going up against the Riddler in one of the trailers."
A clip plays of Cobblepot and Selina meeting and talking as he coerces her into doing a job for him.
JAKE: "And speaking of Riddler, our main bad guy. At Comic-Con, Adler mentioned that Riddler is someone who's been wronged by the Dent Act. The Dent Act has become authoritarian, and it basically gave the government unlimited power to crack down on crime. But it also destroyed a lot of innocent lives."
More speculation on the Riddler, and he moves on.
JAKE: "And then we have Bruce Wayne. Full-time Bruce Wayne now, it seems. The lack of Batman himself in all the promotion was worrying at first. But I think we all get it now. This movie is about Batman's return. It's about Bruce deciding whether or not he wants to put the cowl back on."
JAKE: "Adler mentioned recently that the original title for this movie was going to be The Dark Knight Rises or The Dark Knight Returns. I mean, I think The Dark Knight Rises is a better name, honestly. But either way, the point is this is a movie about Batman rising, his return as Riddler brings the Dent Act down."
He talks more as he moves on to speculation on Killer Croc.
JAKE: "They've barely shown him. We've seen maybe two shots of him in all the trailers. And I think that's intentional. They want his full reveal to be in the movie."
[CLIP: A shadowy figure in the sewers, massive and hulking]
JAKE: "But from what we have seen, I think Croc is working with the Riddler. Maybe Riddler broke him out of Arkham. Maybe Riddler promised him something. Either way, Croc is going to be a problem."
More speculation follows as he moves on.
JAKE: "Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room or should I say, the clown in the room. The Joker."
JAKE: "So, we know the Joker was caught and he is in Arkham now. Adler confirmed that Harley Quinn is in this movie. And if Harley's in it, that raises a huge question: Is the Joker somehow involved?"
[CLIP: Brief flash of Harley Quinn from a trailer - just a glimpse]
JAKE: "Now, there are a few possibilities here."
He speculates about whether Harley will somehow be the driving force behind the Joker gang, or if she is in the process of being turned into Harley Quinn by the Joker.
JAKE: "Adler did say that the relationship between the Joker and Harley in the DCU is going to be more toxic, and more of the relationship is from Harley's side. So I am curious to see what he is cooking up here."
He then moves on to speculate if any other members from the Rogues Gallery will show up.
JAKE: "Scarecrow. There is a chance he shows up again."
He then mentions Bane, Hugo Strange, and finally:
JAKE: "And finally Ra's al Ghul. Liam Neeson's Ra's died in Batman Begins... or did he? The League of Shadows is still out there. What if they're backing the Riddler? What if they want Gotham to fall so it can be 'cleansed'? Will Talia show up? Adler did mention they were going to do a small retcon to the beginning of the first movie... so many questions here."
JAKE: "Again, pure speculation. But that's the fun part, right? We're a week away, and we still don't know everything, but the hype is over the roof. That's how you do it."
Last segment of the video
JAKE: "There were leaks a year ago that we all saw with Henry Cavill, Damson Idris, and Chris Pine, meaning that the Green Lanterns and Superman could show up in this movie."
He leans forward, excited.
JAKE: "Think about it. This movie is the second-to-last movie before Justice League. There needs to be a connection. So maybe just maybe we get a post-credits scene with Bruce meeting John. Or maybe we get Superman showing up to help Batman in the final battle. Who knows? But there's definitely going to be a Justice League tease."
He ends the video.
JAKE: "Alright, that's my breakdown. One week away, guys. I cannot wait. Let me know in the comments what you think. Are you excited? What are your predictions?"
JAKE: "Thanks for watching, and like and subscribe, and I'll see you next time!"