The Batman hits theaters this week, and everything we know about Batman is about to change. Early information about the film revealed that The Batman will follow Bruce Wayne’s sophomore year as the Dark Knight—meaning that he will most likely lack a considerable amount of control over his emotions and convictions.

So we are going to see a completely different Bruce Wayne/Batman, one we have never seen on the big screen before. Nearly every film iteration of Bruce Wayne has shown him in his later years, as a composed and well put-together businessman/playboy. Robert Pattinson has gone on record with GQ and saying that “he doesn’t have a playboy persona at all, so he’s kind of a weirdo as Bruce [Wayne] and a weirdo as Batman.”

Not only will the characterization of Bruce Wayne/Batman be entirely different, but the storytelling that accompanies the character will also be something we have never seen or experienced in previous Batman films. Again, it will follow the early days of the Dark Knight—days that were mainly filled with more detective work than we are used to seeing on-screen. In this film, we are meant to follow alongside Batman clue-by-clue in order to figure out the mystery behind The Riddler.

Westworld actor Jeffrey Wright explains how his character, Jim Gordon, builds his relationship with Batman in the upcoming film.

“My Gordon is very much partnered with Rob’s [Robert Pattinson] Batman,” Wright told Total Film. “And so there is, as Gary Oldman once described it, very much a Watson to the Batman’s Holmes in our storytelling. He’s still Lieutenant. He’s not Commissioner yet. So it gave the character the opportunity to really dip his hands into the muck, and be up to his elbows, and be very much in the thick of things.”

The Dark Knight is not going to be up against the same bright green costumed Riddler that we saw in 1995’s Batman Forever. In an interview with Total Film, Paul Dano was asked what he could say about his Riddler. “[Director Matt Reeves] was bringing something real to this,” Dano replied. “It’s part of what’s scary about it. I know some of his references are like the Zodiac killer. For me, that was a small part of it. I think that this character’s intent is far greater than somebody like that.”

If three iconic characters switching it up isn’t enough, Bruce Wayne’s primary caretaker and closest ally will also take on a profile that we’ve never seen before. Venom: Let There Be Carnage director and Black Panther actor Andy Serkis spoke with Digital Spy about Alfred Pennyworth’s past as a soldier, and how his former life in the secret service has drastically limited his ability to be a father-figure to Bruce Wayne.

“He is an ex-soldier. He’s worked for the secret service, but one thing he isn’t, is a father or possess the emotional toolbox to be a father. That is really what’s at the core of this telling of the tale of our version of their relationship and I’m thankful that it is a fresh view, really.”

This is a huge twist and a major influence on Pattinson’s Batman. Alfred Pennyworth has always been portrayed as a proxy parent to Bruce Wayne, and somewhat of a guiding light. If what Serkis says is true about his portrayal of Alfred in The Batman, we will most likely witness the birth of the most emotionally untethered Batman—ever.

The Batman will hit theaters on March 4, 2022. For more, here’s rumors of Barry Keoghan being the new Joker and info on Colin Farrell’s The Penguin spin-off series.

Photos via Warner Bros.