The second trailer for the highly anticipated The Batman was released during DC’s recent Fandome event–you can check out the trailer here:

The film stars Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, as well as Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon. Following Batman in his second year of crime fighting, the movie looks to be a chaotic and dark tale of the Dark Knight trying to take down a serial killer version of The Riddler.

The trailer was absolutely fantastic, from the cinematography to the glimpses of the phenomenal score by Michael Giacchino. I honestly can’t wait for the movie to come out in March of next year. It looks like everyone feels the same way, judging by the response the trailer got after its release. The constant refrain seemed to be that this version of Batman on film has potential to be the greatest version yet, eclipsing every other Batman film that came before it.

And you know what? I think those people are right. I think this is going to be a truly amazing film, and I can’t wait for it to come out. But this breaks my heart a bit. I’m just not ready for there to be a better Batman film than 2008’s The Dark Knight.

You have to understand, I absolutely loved The Dark Knight. I have been a Batman fan my entire life, and the lead up to this movie was pitch perfect. I’m an advertiser by trade, and the advertising campaign leading up to the release of Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film was so engaging and involved–it truly made you feel like you were a part of the film’s universe. From campaign rallies for Harvey Dent’s run for district attorney to getting recruited to join the Joker’s gang, the wait for the film was filled with innovation and exciting events. Not to mention the fact that the movie was a cinematic masterpiece–loved by critics and audiences alike. I saw the film eight times in theaters and have seen it countless times since then. Everything, from the music to the acting to the script to the action to the emotion was just… *chef’s kiss.

I remember going to see the movie for the very first time. This was before you could make reservations for specific seats in movie theaters, so I got in line at 8:00 PM for an 12:00 AM showing. That’s right; I sat in line for four hours to see this movie. And I wasn’t even the first person in line. I distinctly remember sitting in the theater after the credits rolled, experiencing an immense feeling of sadness for what I had just witnessed. I knew, at that moment, that I would never experience something like this in theaters ever again. No other film would live up to the expectation and wait and deliver so perfectly like The Dark Knight did. And to be honest, no movie since has even come close.

Sure, I was super excited to see Avengers: Endgame. That was the one film that came close, but it was no where near the same level of wait and reward that The Dark Knight was. My favorite director paired with my favorite composer in a movie about my favorite character being portrayed by my favorite version of him on film to date fighting my favorite villain? Nothing could ever come close.

I don’t want anything to come close. I don’t want a movie to replace how special The Dark Knight is for me. That kind of movie really only comes along once in a lifetime, and I’m not ready for it to be dethroned. I understand what I’m saying here: that I am worried that next year’s The Batman is going to be so good that it will surpass my love for The Dark Knight. What a silly thing to be worried about. But I can’t help it. I’m not ready to have a new Batman.

Yes, I will go see The Batman on opening night. Yes, I will be highly anticipating the film. And I am sure I will love it (although Batman has admittedly had a rocky relationship with movies in the past). But Batman seems to have a string of hits followed by a string of misses, and we just experienced some astronomical misses with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, so we are due for another hit. To be honest, I hope it is a hit, and I hope this sparks another decade of phenominal Batman films.

My sincere hope, however, is that people won’t forget about what came before this film. The sheer pressure and level of work The Dark Knight had to do to re-legitimize Batman on film. Though I’ll be there day one, supporting and championing The Batman, I’ll be doing it at 90%, reserving that little bit for the movie that absolutely revolutionized films for me back in 2008.

Mark Pereira is a senior writer for Boss Rush Network. He loves all video games, but his top three favorites are Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D World and Batman: Arkham Asylum. You can find him on Twitter where he’s usually talking about Nintendo, video games, movies, and TV shows.

Featured image source: Badmouth.net