After a long wait, The Batman is finally coming to theaters on March 4, 2022. Over the last two years, The Batman's star, Robert Pattinson, has given many interviews about taking on the role of Batman. Robert Pattinson has highlighted the differences between this version of Batman and other silver screen adaptations of the beloved DC character.
Since the beginning of the pandemic back in 2020, Pattinson has spoken on his exercise routine (or supposed lack thereof), his hopes when reading the script, and his sweaty screen test. With so much anticipation building for The Batman's release, Robert Pattinson's interviews are certainly holding fans' interest.
11 Pattinson Referred To Playing Batman As "The Jewel In The Crown For Actors"
When speaking with Total Film, Pattinson talked about how coveted the role of Batman is. Pattinson is mostly known for indie films and for playing Edward Cullen in the Twilight series. "I just kept obsessively checking up on it for the next year or so," Pattinson said about pursuing the role.
In the interview, Pattinson also said that Batman is “the jewel in the crown of the parts you can really get as an actor." He added, "But I’d never really thought I was anywhere close to doing it, and especially with the other parts I was attracted to at the time.”
10 Said That Batman Is "A Freak" Who Does "Bad Self-Therapy"
During the Zoom interview with Total Film, Pattinson spoke on how Batman is "a freak" like his previous indie film characters. Pattinson mentioned that The Batman will have a different take on Batman, which won't show the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents but will instead deal with the aftermath. Pattinson said, "he’s got this enormous trauma inside him, and he’s built this intricate, psychological mechanism to handle it." He added with a laugh, "it’s like a really bad self-therapy, which has ended up with him being Batman at the end, as self-help."
9 His Batman Probably Takes Pleasure In Inflicting Pain
In a recent interview with the French film magazine Premiere, Pattinson brought up the infamous 'no-kill rule' which is as much a part of the Batman mythos as falling pearls or orphaned sidekicks. In the interview, Pattinson said that the rule can be interpreted in two ways.
"Either he only wants to inflict the appropriate punishment, or he wants to kill and his self-control prevents him from doing so. I imagined it that way from the rehearsal of the first fight. I thought it was funnier, something in him just wanted to slit the guy's throat. I told myself that if he spends his nights chasing criminals, it is impossible that he does not take pleasure in it."
8 The Batman Is A Real Detective Story
One major complaint that fans had with Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy was his version's lack of detective skills. When speaking with MovieMaker.com, Pattinson discussed how he wasn't expecting director Matt Reeves to go into that aspect of the comics.
The actor said "Normally when directors say that, they just do a mood board, and it’s just about the imagery. But I read the script, and it is. It’s a detective movie. It happens all the time in the graphic novels, but it’s always kind of on the backburner in the movies.”
7 This Version Of Bruce Wayne Is "Sort Of Disintegrating"
In the same MovieMaker interview, Pattinson talked about how this Bruce Wayne/Batman differs from past versions of the character. “There’s an element in the other iterations of the story where Bruce goes off, does his training, masters himself, and then comes back to Gotham as a fully realized character."
"The delineation between Bruce and Batman - the public Bruce, the private Bruce, and the Batman Bruce - are very contained and he can control them more easily,” Pattinson said. “And in this, the lines have blurred. His self as Bruce is sort of disintegrating.”
6 His Batman Isn't A Straight-Up Hero
Pattinson discussed, in an interview with The Daily Record, a Scottish publication, that he read as many comics as he could after getting the role of Batman. Pattinson did so to understand the obscure characteristics of Batman that haven't yet been explored on the silver screen.
“People see Batman as this straight-up heroic character. In our story, it really questions what the nature of a hero is and it gives a lot of different angles to it,” he said.
5 Pattinson Told GQ That He Wasn't Working Out For The Film
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Back in 2020, Pattinson defied movie superhero expectations when he told GQ magazine that he was essentially ignoring his personal trainer and not exercising for his role as Batman. The interview notes that Pattinson's co-star, Zoe Kravitz, was working out five days a week during lockdown. Pattinson said he was "barely doing anything." While giving his opinion on the Hollywood obsession with bulked-up, muscular superheroes, Pattinson said "I think if you’re working out all the time, you’re part of the problem."
3 Clarifying That He Did Work Out For The Film
Just under two years after the interview with GQ, Pattinson clarified to MovieMaker that he was joking when he said that he wasn't working out for his role as Batman. He elaborated that the comment had come back to haunt him.
“I just always think it’s really embarrassing to talk about how you’re working out," the actor said. "I think it’s like an English thing. Unless you are in the most unbelievable shape, where people are just genuinely curious, going, ‘How have you achieved, like, physical perfection?’"
2 He Learned He Got The Role Of Batman On The Set Of Christopher Nolan's Tenet
When speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Pattinson spoke about Batman's "legacy and lineage." Pattinson explained that the adaptations of comic books don't seem like "cash grabs" and there's "something very special about [Batman]." Pattinson confirms in the interview that he learned he had landed the role of Batman on the first day of shooting Tenet.
Tenet is the latest film by Christopher Nolan, who famously created the three previous solo Batman movies. "It was an unusual day," he said. Pattinson said that he felt everyone around him knew he got the role before he did.
1 His Screen Test Involved Wearing Val Kilmer’s Batsuit
During the DC Fandome 2021 panel for The Batman, director Matt Reeves and Pattinson briefly discussed what it was like during Pattinson's screen test. Reeves revealed that Pattinson wore the same Batsuit that was worn by Val Kilmer in 1995's Batman Forever.
Pattinson said that being able to move in the Batsuit "is going to be absolutely impossible." Pattinson also said that, due to nervousness and adrenaline, he was sweating profusely in the suit. He added that the suit "would need to be drained of liquid" after each wear.