MovieChat Forums > The Batman (2022) Discussion > He shouldn't have said "Thursday, Octobe...

He shouldn't have said "Thursday, October 31"

posted 3 years ago by damocci (1514)
22 replies | jump to latest

Batman says this in the beginning and I wish he hadn't. After going through my calendar this means that the movie is set in 2019. As far as I know none of the other Batman movies are set in a specific year. Doing so in this movie bugs me and I can't really explain why. Maybe it's because, for example, Batman 1989's year is left ambiguous and could thus be set in any year, even in the present but in an alternate universe, making it timeless. Because this one is implicitly set in 2019 I feel like it might date the movie one day.

Also, why would they set it in 2019? Production finished last year, and usually studios make a point of setting their movies in the year that they are released. You'd expect The Batman to be set in 2021 or 2022.

[–] Skynet1984 (189) 3 years ago

I guess they started filming in 2019?

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

Usually, a script is future dated to the year of release. So even if they started filming in 2019 the writers normally anticipate the release year and incorporate it into the script. I think this was just overlooked. The filmmakers probably had too much on their minds, what with the Covid-19 pandemic interfering with production and all.

[–] Skynet1984 (189) 3 years ago

Yeah I think you are right about that.

[–] mcqueen (1150) 3 years ago

Principal photography began on January 27, 2020 and finally wrapped on March 21, 2021

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

Principal photography began on January 27, 2020 and finally wrapped on March 21, 2021

Which would mean that the final draft of the script was written in 2019.

[–] Skynet1984 (189) 3 years ago

Ah right, I didn't know that.

[–] millsey72 (10363) 3 years ago

Who cares?

[–] mcqueen (1150) 3 years ago

plot hole!

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

Clearly not you, so what exactly are you doing replying to a post about something you don't care about???

[–] mcqueen (1150) 3 years ago

burn!

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

Me burned? By someone commenting "who cares?" I don't think so.

[–] mcqueen (1150) 3 years ago

no, you burned him!

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

Oh, I misunderstood. My apologies. 😊

[–] millsey72 (10363) 3 years ago

Apology not accepted

[–] mcqueen (1150) 3 years ago

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Thursday, October 31, 2030

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

Yeah, I saw that when I was checking the calendar and will just pretend it's set in the future. It's more likely though that the date was overlooked because the filmmakers were preoccupied with the interruptions caused by Covid-19.

[–] mcqueen (1150) 3 years ago

oh!

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

atman says this in the beginning and I wish he hadn't. After going through my calendar this means that the movie is set in 2019. As far as I know none of the other Batman movies are set in a specific year. Doing so in this movie bugs me and I can't really explain why. Maybe it's because, for example, Batman 1989's year is left ambiguous and could thus be set in any year, even in the present but in an alternate universe, making it timeless. Because this one is implicitly set in 2019 I feel like it might date the movie one day.

huh?

Thursday, October 31, 2002
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Thursday, October 31, 2030
Thursday, October 31, 2041
Thursday, October 31, 2047

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

How observant of you. It never occurred to me that from the beginning of time till the end of time there could possibly be other Thursday, October 31s! Why are you wasting your talents on MovieChat? You should be out there solving mysteries and building rockets.

*sigh* Read my comments above to see why this movie is definitely set in 2019.

[–] Ldlamb (642) 3 years ago

If the other Batman’s are timeless..,then so is this one….since there are many potential years that Halloween can be on a Thursday….if this really bothered you….that’s your problem I guess.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 3 years ago

Maybe they implicitly put the date so that they don't need to reference the pandemic, i.e., making people wearing masks, city wide lockdowns, ambulances everywhere, etc.

I think at the time of shooting, the pandemic was at it's absolute height. Perhaps, they tought it must be huge and would never ends.

If the pandemic never subsides, and we still living like it's 2020 for the forseable future, then when this movie being released in 2022 audience would feel disconnected. The "realism" they wanted would be ruined.

That may be why it is 2019 and not 2020 or 2021 or even simply "present day."

Some movies, like the one I just watch last night, Zeros and Ones (2021) which was filmed in Italy when covid was at it's peak, show people wearing masks, hand sanitizers, wiping stuffs with alcohol, etc.

Another movie I know is Kimi (2022), starring Zoë Kravitz. They also portrayed everyone in the movie wearing masks, hand sanitizers, etc.

[–] damocci (1514) 3 years ago

That's a good explanation. By the time they release the sequel the pandemic probably won't be as big a deal anymore so they might not even have to might it. If they do it'll be a throwaway line like "Gotham has survived serial killers, floods, pandemics, and it will survive this too" or something.