The Batman: running time announced and Michael Giacchino's theme revealed

Be prepared to get a lot of Batman for your buck when The Batman is released in Cineworld cinemas this March. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the film's running time as two hours and fifty-five minutes, which makes it longer even than Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. 

Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman sends the Caped Crusader back to his origins as a detective working the mean streets of Gotham City. Robert Pattinson is our tortured new Bruce Wayne and he's locked in some seriously dark mind-games with the Zodiac-esque Riddler (a creepy-looking Paul Dano). Also thrown into the mix: Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman, Colin Farrell's Penguin, Jeffrey Wright's Jim Gordon and Andy Serkis' Alfred.

It's an excellent cast and an intriguing overhaul of the Batman template, one that derives inspiration from classic comic book sources including The Long Halloween. The movie promises to be a bruising, noirish Batman story in which the title character poses an explicit threat to the criminals he hunts down. But is he about to meet his match in the form of the Riddler? And how does this diabolical fiend's plan tie into the orphaned Wayne's tortured past?

All those answers will be coming in due course. In the meantime, let's revel in the reveal of Michael Giacchino's brand new Batman theme, which has already been teased in the trailers. It's the composer's latest collaboration with Reeves, following Cloverfield, Let Me In and the Planet of the Apes movies. Giacchino follows in the footsteps of Danny Elfman, Elliot Goldenthal, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard and many others – so has he nailed the turbulent essence of Robert Pattinson's Batman?

Check it out and let us know your thoughts @Cineworld. The Batman is released on 4th March.