Who Is The Batman Character Bella Reál ?

Last Updated on December 3, 2022 by Lil Ginge

In The Batman, the 2022 superhero movie starring Robert Pattinson as Gotham’s caped crusader and Paul Dano as Batman’s #1 antagonist, The Riddler, Bella Reál (played by relative newcomer Jayme Lawson) is a Gotham City progressive, grassroots activist running for Mayor against Gotham City’s current Mayor, Don Mitchell Jr. Reál is a reformer looking to rid Gotham City politics of its deep, underlying corruption and criminality. 

Some journalists and fans speculated prior to the release of The Batman that Lawson would be playing Commissioner Gordon’s (Jeffrey Wright) daughter Barbara Gordon, who famously becomes Batgirl and later Oracle in the comic books world. But Reál is an original character created for the film, and Barbara Gordon does not make an appearance in the movie.

Who Is The Batman Character Bella Reál?

Bella Reál is an original character for the film and is not featured in prior Batman comic books. As a mayoral candidate running against Mitchell, her aim is to take on the corruption that rots Gotham City to its core.

In one scene released in the trailer for the film, Reál confronts billionaire recluse, Bruce Wayne, about his lack of philanthropic contributions to the city. The scene, which takes place at the funeral of her recently-murdered rival Mayor Mitchell, shows Reál accusing Wayne:

“I wouldn’t be bothering you here but your people keep telling me you’re unavailable. Your family has a history of philanthropy but as far as I can tell, you’re not doing anything.” 

– Bella Reál in The Batman

But she says she wants to help him change that.

Who Is Bella Reál Actor Jayme Lawson?

Jayme Lawson studied drama at the legendary Julliard School. The Batman is one of her first feature films, along with Farewell Amor, a 2020 indie drama that was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. Farewell Amor film currently streams on Hulu and is the story of an Angolan immigrant (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) who is reunited with his wife (Zainab Jah) and daughter (Reál) after 17-years separated.

Lawson is set to star in The Woman King, a historical drama also starring Viola Davis, John Boyega, and Lashana Lynch about an all-women military division of the African Kingdom Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries. The film is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.

Other upcoming projects for Lawson include Till, a true story about the racist and brutal murder of 14-year old black child Emmett Till, as well as the upcoming Showtime anthological series The First Lady. In Till, Reál plays Myrlie Evers, the widow of Civil Rights Leader Medgar Evers, and in First Lady, Reál will portray a young Michelle Obama alongside Viola Davis player her in her White House years.

Quotes on Bella Reál from Jayme Lawson

[Reál ‘s] gotta fake it ’til she makes it. She’s running up against the big dogs, so there’s not much transformation that’s happening when I show up on set. I’m surrounded by a lot of great talent and I’ve just gotta fake it. So I’ll be as nervous as can be, but I can’t let it be known. So I just do what I’ve gotta do. It’s working out so far, so that’s good.

On Farewell Amor, we’re working with one camera, a small crew and a tiny cast, and then my first day showing up for Batman, we’re running four cameras simultaneously… and I’ve never experienced that. Farewell Amor was my first time on a film set, so to jump into that… the crew is huge, and the production is huge. (Laughs.) So in that way, it was as jarring as I expected. But I still felt welcomed and like I belonged, which I wasn’t expecting.

As a newbie, as a freshman in this industry, I was really scared that when I got there, Matt (Reeves) was going to look at me and be like, “Well, why did we hire her? What is going on? Get somebody else in the room.” (Laughs.) But it wasn’t that at all. I felt and still feel like I belong in those rooms. And the crew is amazing on Batman. Everybody is just so warm and lovely. You hear horror stories about your first set experience with a big cast, and it just wasn’t that and it hasn’t been that. So that was a beautiful surprise. That was a real, real nice surprise to have.

Jayme Lawson in the Hollywood Reporter

Other Characters In The Batman

Bella Reál plays an important role in The Batman, especially when it comes to her taking on Gotham’s corruption as a Mayoral candidate. Gotham’s elite law and justice figures had previously been filled with the corrupt likes of scumbags like Commissioner Pete Savage (Alex Fern) as well as Gotham City District Attorney Gil Colson (Peter Sarsgaard).

Other characters in The Batman include:

• Oz “The Peguin” Cobblepot (Colin Farrell)
• Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz)
• Carmine Falcone (John Turturro)
• Andy Serkis (Alfred Pennyworth)
• Barry Koeghan (as a very special guest)

The Batman has already been a major critical and box office success in the post-COVID era. The film boasts an 85% tomato score on Rotten tomatoes and is certified fresh by the film review aggregator. It also features a very high audience score of 88%.

According to Box Office Mojo, The Batman has grossed over $300 million domestically and over $600 million worldwide so far. The film is still going strong in movie theaters. It is the top grossing film of the year so far and it seems like the sky is currently the limit.

If you enjoyed this article on The Batman’s Bella Reál, check out my recent article on The Batman character Commissioner Pete Savage, too.