Since it was announced that he would play Bruce Wayne in The Batman, speculation about Robert Pattinson’s turn as Batman has been everywhere - and here's everything known about his version so far. Modern blockbusters keep their secrets close, however, and information about Pattinson’s Batman has been slow. Interviews with Pattinson and director Matt Reeves have given a steady drip of clues, meaning dedicated fans now have some idea of what to expect.
Ben Affleck was originally set to direct and star in the film, but it seems like 2017’s Justice League will prove to be his final outing as Bruce Wayne. After Affleck’s exit, Reeves, known best for his work on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, soared in to tackle a new script about a younger Bruce Wayne. Casting was narrowed down to Pattinson and X-Men alum Nicholas Hoult before the franchise-averse Pattinson was chosen to don the cowl.
With success in films as far-ranging as Wonder Woman and Joker, DC Films could take Batman in any number of directions. Reeve’s script lured Pattinson back into blockbuster territory, so the film could potentially feature a more complex Batman than in the past. There is plenty to indicate what kind of Bruce Wayne audiences should expect and what that implies about the film itself.
Bruce Wayne’s Age
In Batman Begins, Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne celebrates his 30th birthday in the midst of his first case as the world’s greatest detective. The Batman is taking a page from Christopher Nolan’s playbook, as it will feature Bruce in his early 30s as well. Bale’s Bruce was inexperienced at the time, his early days as Batman off to a rocky start. Pattinson, who is 33 years old, will have spent a little more time in the field by the time he faces off against Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman and Colin Farrell’s Penguin. This doesn’t mean he’s completely refined, though. Reeves hopes to portray Bruce’s intelligence as a detective over his physical strength as a crime fighter, meaning his fighting style will still be rough around the edges.
Despite being younger than Affleck’s grizzled version of the character, this won’t be another origin story. All indications point to Pattinson’s Batman being on the scene for two years before the events of the film. This means he’ll be more accustomed to the cape than Bale was in Batman Begins, but he won’t be as sure-footed or well-known in Gotham as Michael Keaton’s portrayal in 1989’s Batman. It’s a sweet spot for the character that hasn’t been investigated in films before.
What this means for Bruce Wayne outside of the Batsuit is no clearer, but it’s doubtful that Reeves or Pattinson would be interested in the playboy side of the character. That’s for the best. In Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Wayne’s promiscuity is part of his self-obsessed façade, but even that may feel outdated in modern superhero films. More probable: an isolated Bruce Wayne and a comic-inspired romance with Catwoman could be in the cards.
Bruce Wayne’s Experience As A Crime Fighter
His first two years of experience as a detective and vigilante will probably entail lots of scrapping with Gotham street gangs for Bruce Wayne. Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne had a history of fighting supervillains and lost a few of his teammates along the way — including a Robin who was killed, though theories suggest he turned into Jared Leto’s Joker. Setting The Batman this early in Bruce’s tenure was obviously deliberate on Reeves’ part, and that means fans should expect to see Bruce’s first conflict with members of what will become his rogues gallery: the Riddler (Paul Dano), Penguin, and Catwoman. If Penguin is a mobster with a history of arms dealing, as he is in many comics, his experience in crime will especially outweigh Pattinson’s.
To prepare for his role, Pattinson has undergone training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and he has done so under the tutelage of instructors who worked on the John Wick movies. This suggests a grittier fighter who isn’t afraid of hand-to-hand combat. Typically, Batman uses gadgets and theatricality against his enemies and their cronies. By the time the events of The Batman happen, Bruce’s martial arts training should already be complete, and a style involving Brazilian jiu-jitsu indicates he won’t be hiding in the shadows. In the Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan relied on choppy editing and low lighting to give Batman’s opponents a sense of fear and disorientation. Reeves looks to be stepping away from that, offering a visually cleaner and more physically brutal plan of attack.
Bruce Wayne’s New Batsuit
When a quick teaser unveiled Robert Pattinson’s new Batman suit, it caused a firestorm online. The low lighting obscured a lot of detail, but that didn’t stop fans from poring over every frame. A few of their discoveries might pull back the curtain on how Pattinson will approach both Batman and Bruce Wayne. The suit itself is made of several separate pieces of armor that allow for dexterous movement. Batman’s fighting style has long been defined by the immobility of his suit. In The Dark Knight, Bale’s Bruce Wayne was happy just to turn his neck. Those characteristically stiff movements won’t apply to Pattinson, though: the suit is perfectly designed to accommodate jiu-jitsu.
A lot has also been made of the Bat symbol on the new suit’s chest. It appears to be made of gun parts, and many fans are guessing that the gun in question is a big part of Batman lore: the weapon that killed Bruce’s parents. If that’s the case, the film may be content to focus on Bruce’s trauma without showing the death of his parents for the umpteenth time. Just as interesting, though less concrete, is the suggestion that the Batman cowl slopes outward at its peak, meaning it could bear a resemblance to the long-eared costume the hero wore in the earliest Batman comics. If true, that fits well with Reeves’s vision for a film-noir style and a focus on Bruce as a detective.
The Batman Voice
Chalk this one up to a potential mislead. Robert Pattinson is never above giving joke answers in interviews, and his suggestions about an unusual “Batman voice” might be nothing more than that. In a video interview with Access Hollywood, Pattinson said he’ll take cues from The Lighthouse costar Willem Dafoe’s accent in the cerebral horror. The accent itself is rooted firmly in a specific time and place, and it lands somewhere between British brogue and pirate. If copied literally, such a voice would have no place in a Reeves film; but if the actor is adopting Dafoe’s tall-tale cadence or grumbling tenor, it might serve Batman well.
Batman voices past have been wide-ranging, though Kevin Conroy, who voiced the character in Batman: The Animated Series, is largely credited with the idea that Bruce Wayne should use a different voice when wearing the mask. Christian Bale went extreme in the Dark Knight films, giving Batman a death-metal growl that didn’t always fit into the movies around him. Perhaps Pattinson’s words have some kernel of truth as he prepares his own interpretation.
He Won’t Face Joker (Yet)
By the time it premieres in 2021, The Batman will have some distance from DC’s most recent juggernaut. Still, the shadow of Joker will loom large. It, too, was a serious-minded take on a Batman character which placed its weight on the shoulders of a central performance. The Batman will have a larger, more colorful cast, but all eyes are on Pattinson right now. The fact that Joker brought in a ton of box office revenue and earned 11 Oscar nominations (Joker won two Academy Awards) means that the team behind The Batman will face a lot of comparisons.
The connection between the films will fall short of a Joker appearance, though. Reeves has confirmed that Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck will not appear in The Batman, and it would be a risky move to recast the character for the third time in such a short lifespan. That doesn’t mean they’ll never meet, though. Joker director Todd Phillips has mentioned having ideas for a sequel, and depending on when The Batman takes place, it is possible that Pattinson is playing a grown-up version of the child Bruce in that movie. Having the characters interact may not fit Reeves or Phillips’ visions, but they will surely face pressure from a studio that sees the commercial potential.
Recently, though, the DCEU has shown a willingness to allow directors to make the films they want to make. If that holds true, sequels to both Joker and The Batman won’t have any overlap. Reeves acknowledges that The Batman will have some connections to the larger DCEU, but if those are negligible - and considering Joker takes place in its own universe - Pattinson and Phoenix won’t be onscreen together any time soon.
That leaves Batman without his arch-nemesis, but it also allows Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne to tread new territory. The Batman is expected to spawn a trilogy, meaning Reeves might already have a plan for where his Bruce will go. It’s exciting to think about appearances from the Batman rogues gallery deep cuts, but without the mad clown, another opportunity opens for Pattinson. Christian Bale played Bruce Wayne as a psychopath with Batman acting as the outlet for his rage. He never got the chance to explore that fully, though, because Heath Ledger stole The Dark Knight. Pattinson might be poised to take up this mantle without the lunacy of the clown prince overpowering his own.
Casting Robert Pattinson Was The Right Move
Batman casting news was dividing fans before the internet. Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck all faced backlash after winning their roles, as did Jim Carrey for playing the Riddler in Batman Forever and, believe it or not, Heath Ledger when he was chosen as The Dark Knight’s Joker. Robert Pattinson was no exception, but the actor has worked hard to move away from his Twilight heartthrob image. Pattinson’s choices have been unexpected over the past few years, and his performances in indie flicks from The Lighthouse to High Life have been critically celebrated.
Robert Pattinson can act. Matt Reeves knows his way around a screenplay, and his films hit the perfect mix of action and intelligence. Considering this creative team and the clues coming out so far, The Batman is set to be a unique and exciting entry into the DCEU (if it truly does end up being a part of the franchise, regardless of its recasts) - one that might stand up to the heights of predecessors such as The Dark Knight.
