Prior to filming The Batman, star Robert Pattinson ignored the advice of his co-stars and director Matt Reeves when they urged him not to watch the previous movies centered on the Caped Crusader.
While breaking down some of the iconic roles he’s played over the years in a video for GQ, Pattinson teased new details about his upcoming portrayal of Bruce Wayne: “It’s funny because I was talking to other actors who are in the movie and everyone else said, ‘No,’ even Matt [Reeves] was saying, ‘Don’t watch the other ones. Don’t watch any of the other movies, don’t be thinking about that kind of stuff too much,’ but I was like, ‘I’ve already seen all the other movies,’ and they’re incredibly familiar to me and I like all the other movies.”
Pattinson continued, “It’s not like you’re trying to rescue a dead character. I mean, they’re all really, really good portrayals. And I kind of really watched a lot of them on the run-up to it just to see where’s a gap and something that hasn’t really been explored yet.” He went on to describe all of the former Batman performers as “heavyweight” actors who’ve “all had great interpretations of it, and very very different. So it was fun watching them all.”
Pattinson joins a long line of actors who’ve donned the cape and cowl (to varying degrees of success), including Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck. While some of their performances are considered iconic, others have been met with a more subdued reception. One infamous example is Batman & Robin star Clooney, who’s bashed his own portrayal of the character on countless occasions.
Bruce Wayne has historically been portrayed as a rich playboy when he’s not moonlighting as a crimefighting vigilante, but Pattinson recently described his version of the character as “kind of a weirdo.” The actor explained, “In all the other movies, Bruce goes away, trains, and returns to Gotham believing in himself, thinking, I’m gonna change things here. But in this, it’s sort of implied that he’s had a bit of a breakdown. But this thing he’s doing, it’s not even working.”
The Batman, which is set during the titular superhero’s second year patrolling the streets of Gotham, also stars Paul Dano as The Riddler, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman and Colin Farrell as The Penguin. Warner Bros. has released several new TV spots leading up to the film’s release, including a recent promo showcasing Bruce Wayne’s detective skills.
The Batman hits theaters March 4.
Source: GQ
About The Author
