Robert Pattinson has finally opened up about his role as our new Bruce Wayne in The Batman. The former Twilight star won the coveted role and will be the new man under the mask of the iconic DC hero in director Matt Reeves' upcoming take on the franchise. Now, after much discussion, the actor has finally broken his silence on winning the part in a new interview with Variety.
"I'd had Batman in my mind for a while," Pattinson says. "It's such an absurd thing to say. I sort of had an idea to do it, and I'd been prodding Matt. He didn't accept any prods. I kept asking to meet him."
Eventually, Reeves gave in and agreed to meet with Pattinson. The audition actually took place right around the time that the actor's new movie The Lighthouse was premiering at Cannes, which made for something of an interesting situation.
"I had to kind of try to imagine what he'd written, and I hadn't even read the script," Pattinson said. "I'd come with this pad full of notes… It was terrifying. I was like, "˜Oh f***! Does that screw me because they are so intent on secrecy?' I'm literally in Cannes in my hotel room [rehearsing]. The whole thing was a lot."
X-Men franchise star Nicholas Hoult was in the running as well, but ultimately Pattinson won out. Many online have had strong opinions on the matter. However, according to the actor, much of the response has been better than he expected.
"To be honest, it was less vitriolic than I was expecting," Pattinson said. "It's much more fun when you're an underdog. There's no expectation of you."
One of the other nice little nuggets came about when Pattinson discussed putting on the batsuit for his audition.
"I put it on. I remember saying to Matt, "˜It does feel quite transformative!' He was like, "˜I would hope it does! You're literally in the Batsuit.' You do feel very powerful immediately. And it's pretty astonishing, something that is incredibly difficult to get into, so the ritual of getting into it is pretty humiliating. You've got five people trying to shove you into something. Once you've got it on, it's like, "˜Yeah, I feel strong, I feel tough, even though I had to have someone squeezing my butt cheeks into the legs.'"
It's also worth noting that Pattinson was "f****** furious" when news of his possible casting leaked, which happened before he had even had his final, formal audition. In the end, he was happy to get the call.
"I was absolutely relieved when Matt called," Pattinson said. "It's so bizarre. I was like, "˜What a coincidence this is happening. It's absolutely crazy."
For now, plot details for the movie remain under wraps. What we know is that it will contain multiple villains and that it will be a noir-influenced tale that focuses and the character's skills as a detective. Beyond that, much remains mysterious.
The Batman is set to hit theaters on June 25, 2021.
So what do you think? Is Robert Pattinson the right guy for the job? Is Matt Reeves the right filmmaker to take over the franchise?
