Matthew Perry's death at the end of October came as a shock to fans and loved ones of the star alike, but the meaning behind his cryptic final posts has now been revealed.
Perry tragically died at the age of 54 on October 28 after being found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles and was laid to rest at a private funeral on November 3.
Best known for his role as the loveable joker Chandler Bing in the hit series Friends, news of Perry's death sent shockwaves through the fan community.
Prior to his passing, Perry had shared several posts on Instagram referring to himself as "Mattman", and the reason behind these has now been confirmed.
Beginning on October 17, Perry shared a series of pictures and videos referencing "Mattman", beginning with him panning across a room with The Batman film on three screens, captioned: "No need to worry everybody, I've got the streets tonight."
The next post showed a series of red lights forming the Batman symbol in his garden, captioned: "Sleep well everybody, I've got the city tonight -Mattman", before he then shared a picture of a screen reading "Batman plays pickleball," on which he simply added "wtf", being an avid pickleball player himself.
Another post showed him placing three red berries on the counter, writing: "This is what I've had to eat today. I'm Mattman," before his next post showed that he'd carved the Batman symbol into a Halloween pumpkin, adding: "Do you know what I mean?"
His next post was a short video of the moon behind the clouds with the caption: "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? - I'm Mattman," before his last picture - taken five days before he died - showed him sitting in his hot tub with the caption: "Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I'm Mattman."
Some had assumed the posts were simply in homage to Perry's lifelong love of Batman, which he had spoken about at length in the past.
As reported by Indy100, his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing included several Batman references, with its final chapter aptly named "Batman".
He also recalled dubbing an assistant "Alfred", who in response addressed him as "Mr. Wayne", and revealed that as a child he envisioned his father as Superman while he took on the role of Gotham's The Dark Knight.
Elsewhere in the memoir, he writes (via the Daily Mail): "Someday you, too, might be called upon to do something important, so be ready for it. And when whatever happens, just think, What would Batman do? and do that."
He also revealed to GQ that he once invested in a sprawling 10,400-square-foot LA penthouse, drawing inspiration from Christian Bale's portrayal in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, explaining: "Bruce Wayne had a penthouse – I’m going to have one."
Inside, he also carried on the Batman theme by having his own "Matt cave" complete with a pool table, huge television, a sleek black sofa, and shelving adorned with Batman collectibles.
He admitted at the time: "I relate to Batman very much. I don’t solve crime. But I’ve saved people’s lives," referencing his work to help other men battling with addiction - something he'd faced throughout his own life.
While his love of the caped crusader no doubt proved some inspiration for these posts, it has now been revealed that "Mattman" was actually also a semi-autobiographical superhero project Perry was hoping to launch.
Director and producer Adam McKay revealed in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter that Perry had pitched the project to him while working together on Don't Look Up.
He revealed that Perry had told him: "It’s about this guy, you’d recognize him. His name is Matt and he’s very famous and about 50 years old.
"His life is a little bit of a mess. He’s lost. Out of the blue, a distant relative dies and leaves him $2 billion — and he uses [it] to become a superhero."
McKay said that Perry saw himself starring in the main role, adding: "My idea was just to do a show about being this incredibly popular, well-known TV guy who’s dealing with addiction… a fictional version of what you’ve struggled with… The idea that everywhere you go, people yell your catchphrases a little bit of your past, the addiction, what it’s like, because everyone views you through this lens of this cheery, bright, multicolored show.
"And then, meanwhile, you’re a human being who’s dealing with real addiction, real pain. It could be an incredible show. It could be really funny. It could really affect people’s lives."
He added that Perry's idea for Mattman could have done well today, explaining: "The world has changed. You could actually do that show now.
"Ten years ago, people would have said you’re crazy. But now people can be more upfront about their mental health issues, their addiction issues, and it’s kind of wonderful."