The Batman Cast Had Lockable Scripts With Tracking Devices to Avoid Leaks

DC went above and beyond to stop details of Matt Reeves’ The Batman leaking as star Paul Dano revealed he was given a lockable binder with a tracking device to keep movie documents safe.

Speaking to GQ Hype, Dano explained that he was given hard copies of scripts and other production materials, alongside the special binder to keep them all secure.

“Don’t lose this,” the production crew would tell him. “Put it in your special binder.” Dano said he’d grown used to film companies deploying various tactics to keep their films under wraps during production, “but this was the first time I had a binder with a locking code on it. Then they added a tracking device.”

The tactic seemingly worked, as very little of The Batman leaked ahead of its March 2022 premiere, though locked binders weren’t the only spoiler prevention method used. Reeves even shot fake scenes in order to protect a major reveal in the film’s final act.

The film quickly found commercial and critical success, reaching $480 million at the global box office within two weeks of being in cinemas. DC clearly has faith in Reeves’ vision for the Robert Pattinson-led Batman franchise too, quickly confirming that a sequel was on the way alongside two spin-off shows.

While the shows are confirmed to be focused on Colin Farrell’s Penguin and the Gotham PD, the cast and crew have share what they’d like to explore in the full sequel.  Pattinson himself wans to take on the Court of Owls saga while director Matt Reeves hopes to bring Mr. Freeze to his dark and gritty Batman universe.

This could just be the beginning of a much larger universe, however, as Reeves is reportedly in talks with other directors and writers to create films based on Batman villains including Scarecrow, Clayface, and Professor Pyg.

In our 10/10 review of the original, IGN said: “Matt Reeves’ violent, thrilling, darkly beautiful take on The Batman more than justifies its place in the franchise’s canon.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.